The Way We Are Part Two
by Nvrmore
Summary: MWPP  Marauders in their second and third years.  Secrets are discovered, lives are altered.  Not DH compliant. Rated for safety. Note:  This is part 2.  Part 3 is coming.  Be on the lookout.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer - Usual.

A/N - This story picks up where Part One left off, so yes, you have to have read part one to know what's going on. (Go. Read. Come back. :) ) On my computer it's all one story - hence the "Chapter 21" rather than "1." Thank you.

Chapter 21

James gave his mum a peck on the cheek, and waved to his dad before running off to get on the train that would take him back to Hogwarts. Once on board, he checked various compartments and was finally rewarded by a familiar sight – Remus reading a book.

"Hey!" James said excitedly, and plopped onto the chair across from Remus.

Remus looked up with a big grin. "Hello! How was your summer?"

"It was great! My parents got me a new broom. I'm all set to join the Quidditch team."

"Is there an opening for a new chaser?"

"Yeah. Remember, Thompson left last year… Have you seen the others yet?" James asked, looking out the window.

"You're the first. Huh…" Remus was also looking out the window, but he was frowning.

James moved so he could see what Remus was looking at. Sirius was walking down the platform. What was surprising was that, unlike last year, he was actually walking _with_ his parents, instead of in front of them. He still had the haughty air he adopted when he was around them, more a habit of training than anything else. But Mr. Black had his hand casually laid on his eldest son's shoulder. It was a perfectly fatherly gesture, and that's what made Remus and James look at each other in confusion.

Regulus was also with them. He was standing on the other side of their mother, who had more of a protective grasp around her youngest son.

As they continued to watch, Sirius turned, gave a slight bow to both parents, and boarded the train.

James and Remus watched the compartment door until Sirius stepped through and sat down next to James, who had re-seated himself across from Remus.

"Good summer?" James asked suspiciously.

"Yes, actually," Sirius said with a smile.

"Really?" Remus asked. "So how was…" At this point, Peter joined the group and sat down. Remus nodded to Peter, but continued speaking, "staying with your grandfather?"

"Fine. He was… strict at first, but once I understood what he expected, it was fine. Good, even."

James raised his eyebrow. "And what did he expect?"

Sirius chuckled at his friends' protectiveness. "Really, it was no big deal. We… spent the summer in one long debate. It was quite interesting, actually. He…" Sirius looked out the window. "He talked to me… like a person. Like an adult. He actually respected what I had to say. I'm telling you, it was fine. We even did stuff together. I watched Muggle football. That was… different." Sirius laughed again. "They're so obtuse. They actually think that game is good. A bunch of blokes running around a field trying to kick a ball into a net. Nothing like Quidditch."

The other three exchanged an uncomfortable look at the casual insult. Remus and James both wondered how affected Sirius was by his stay at his grandfather's.

"How was everyone else's summer?" Sirius asked.

There was a moment's pause before the others started exchanging stories about the various things they had done over the holiday.

Peter spoke disgustedly of John, who was now a regular fixture at the Pettigrew home. There had been times that John and his mum had taken trips into the country or shopping for the day. Peter had never been left alone before and he didn't much care for it.

Remus said that they had done some minor traveling to obscure parts of England. For someone who enjoyed history, it was great fun, but he politely did not go into detail, knowing that his friends would be bored to tears. He also did not share that the reason for the trips were rumors of various means to treat lycanthropy.

"Did your dad do any traveling on his own this summer?" Sirius asked innocently.

"Yes, a few times," Remus answered hesitantly.

"Three?" Sirius asked.

Remus furrowed his brow and did not answer.

James picked up the conversation, changing the topic to avoid a fight. "I," he said with emphasis, "got a new broom! I'm all ready for the new season."

"Except for the minor detail of actually being accepted on the team," Sirius said with a chuckle.

"Bah," James waved dismissively. "Not an issue," he grinned.

Peter piped up, "Well, at least we don't have the old gang to worry about this year."

"What will we do for fun?" Remus snarked.

"Narcissa's still here. And Snivellus, Avery and Bulstrode. Who knows, the fun might not be over yet," James said with a sardonic smile.

"I think we should leave Narcissa alone this year," Sirius said casually, looking out the window again. When he glanced around the cabin, he noticed the incredulous looks of the others. "What? She's not like her sister. She's… not that bad, really."

James made a face. "Who are you and what have you done with Sirius?"

Sirius laughed. "Funny. I'm serious… and Sirius for that matter," he added with a grin. "But really. I had a chance to spend some… very little, mind you… time with her right before leaving. She's all right."

While squinting at Sirius, James said, "Remus… What have you done to him? I think you've influenced him… badly."

Remus held up his hands. "Don't look at me. I had nothing to do with him taking away your toys."

Sirius just rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Maybe I just understand them better now."

"Yes," James said, all pretense of joking gone. "That's what I'm worried about." He held Sirius' gaze as if trying to see inside his head.

Sirius broke eye contact. "Besides, it's not like I said I wasn't still up for fun."

"Do I need to make a list of off-limits people?" James was suspicious of Sirius' new alliance with his family.

"No!... Just Narcissa. She's family," Sirius snapped back.

"Since when have you cared about that? In fact, as I recall, that was your main motivation last year."

"Whatever. Sorry I brought it up. Just because you're not getting your way…"

"What?" James jumped to his feet. "When did this become about me?"

A sharp whistle pierced the compartment, startling James and Sirius. They looked around for the source of the sound. Peter was practically cowering in his seat. He did not know what to do when his friends were fighting. Add to that the whistle, and Peter was too frightened to move.

"Can this wait until we get to school? At least there I can get away from your bickering." Remus' tone was light, though a little sarcastic, but his eyes flashed that yellow-bronze color they took on when he was angry or upset. It was not something the other boys saw often, and it was enough to stunt their argument.

The rest of the train ride was a long thaw. But by the time the boys got to school, the anger had melted away and they were joking with each other again.

Over the next week, the subtle shift that had taken place in Sirius became more evident. It was small things, usually. While it was normal for him to be gregarious and yet still keep people at arms length, this year he seemed dismissive of other students in general, and muggle-borns and half-bloods in particular. And while he was not known for his patience, he was especially short with muggle-borns. James even thought he heard Sirius mutter "Mudblood!" under his breath once, in a bout of frustration with a student who was holding up the Charms class because she couldn't get the proper wand movement.

During the second week of classes, James let things slide. Remus was gone for two days and he really didn't want to confront Sirius without Remus there. If anyone could be fair and impartial, it would be Remus. Second week was also Quidditch trials. James was too nervous to worry much about… anything else. Sirius and Peter sat in the stands yelling and cheering James on. At the end of the week the list of students on the team was posted on the notice board.

James stood just far enough away from the board so that he couldn't read it. "You look," James told Sirius.

"Nuh-uh. You'll have to do it. Come on. Where's that famous Gryffindor courage?"

James nodded, took a deep breath, and walked to the board. After just a moment, he whooped and started jumping around the room.

The other Marauders celebrated with laughter and clapping. Sirius threw his arm around James' neck and led him up onto one of the tables near the middle of the common room.

"Attention everyone. Please meet Gryffindor's newest chaser, James Potter." He gave James a noogey before letting go of him. James bowed for the clapping Gryffindors and hopped off the table.

"Practice starts Monday. You're coming, right?" James asked.

"Wouldn't miss it," Sirius replied.

Unfortunately, the joy of the moment soon faded, and the next day James had had enough of the odd behavior Sirius was exhibiting.

"So, who are we going to prank first?" Peter asked.

"Ugh. I could list a number of people who I'd like to see hexed," Sirius answered.

"There aren't too many people who haven't annoyed you of late," Remus observed.

"What can I say? I'm a man of discerning tastes," Sirius said with a smile. He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.

"And by discerning tastes, you mean pure-bloods?" James decided that now was as good a time as any to address the issue.

Sirius leaned forward in his chair, his face clouding slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

"You tell me? You're the one who doesn't seem to want anything to do with… anyone… who's not from a pure-blood family."

"Hey, it's not my fault some m… people don't…"

"Some what? What were you going to say?" James interrupted.

Remus watched the two boys go back and forth. He had seen this fight coming since their time on the train. While he didn't like the changes in Sirius any more than James, he hoped Sirius would eventually grow back out of them. He knew what it was like to be told something every day of your life. You tend to start believing it after a while, and he figured something similar had happened to Sirius over the summer.

Sirius didn't answer the question James had asked. Instead he said, "What I was going to say was, 'It's not my fault some people don't fit my standards for friends. It's kind of hypocritical of _you_ to get on me about it."

"What are you talking about?" James asked.

"Answer this – If I had been put in Slytherin, would we be friends?"

"That's not the point…" James protested.

"It is the point. You didn't have a problem last year when we were hexing my cousin. This year, I haven't hexed anyone, but you seem to have a problem with me."

"I just find it interesting that suddenly everything is kosher between you and your family. You're even starting to act like them, thinking you're better than everyone else."

Sirius smirked, "No, just better than mu…" Sirius clamped his mouth shut.

The incomplete sentence hung in the air. The nearly-voiced admission had taken all four Marauders by surprise.

"I don't know who you are, but you are not my best mate!" James' voice dropped to a whisper, "And I miss him." James turned his attention to Remus and Peter. "I'm going to supper." He walked out of the dorm and away from Sirius. Remus and Peter followed.

Sirius made himself scarce over the next day and a half. He did not show up at meals and came back to the dorm room late at night. He was usually the early bird, so instead of waiting for the others in the morning, he left, before they got up. He sat in his usual place next to James in class, but neither boy spoke to the other.

James glanced in his direction once or twice, but Sirius stayed focused on what he was doing. Sirius always had been thorough when blocking someone out.

That night, while James was at quidditch practice, he noticed someone sitting in the stands. He knew immediately who it was. So when practice was over, he glided to the stands and dismounted. Then he took a seat next to Sirius.

Sirius was quiet for some time, and James was forcibly reminded of the conversation they'd had the year before.

"My grandfather was a surprisingly good guy. He was… strict, especially at first, but once I started doing what he wanted, he… was actually proud of me. He didn't want much. He just wanted me to have an ongoing debate with him about pure-bloods versus… everyone else. Since I disagreed with the pure-blood side, I was supposed to argue for that stance – their superiority." James noticed he had disassociated himself from them again. "And he would argue the other side, for the muggles." Sirius paused. "Smart man, my grandfather."

James waited. He hadn't known what had occurred over the summer and, while it didn't sound bad or evil, he could see the manipulation in it.

"You know, at the end of the summer, my grandfather took me home. I wasn't looking forward to it, but he told me not to worry… They had a party for me. Would you believe it? My mother said she had heard only good reports from my grandfather, and decided to celebrate with a party." Sirius banged his head in frustration into the seat behind him. This startled James and he looked over at his friend. Sirius' eyes were closed. His voice trembled slightly as he said, "I'm still a dog, James. Only this time, I learned my lessons well, and I pranced around for them because they held out their hand and patted my head. I just wanted…" He broke off here and rubbed his eye, nonchalantly trying to wipe away the tear that had dared escape. James looked away, letting Sirius keep his pride. "I've been a real arse and I'm sorry."

James nodded, hardly able to speak himself. "Well, you may be an arse, but you're our arse." He gently nudged Sirius. "Come on," James said, getting up. When he'd gotten a few feet ahead of Sirius, he turned and whistled, "Come on, boy, come here." James patted his knee.

Sirius snorted and smiled, and then ran up to James, cuffing him on the back of the head.

"Welcome back, mate," James said.

"It's good to be back."

- - - - -

A/N - Thanks again to all who have been with me thus far, and to new people who join us along the way. I hope you continue to enjoy the story as our boys grow up some. I do not plan on breaking this story up by year, but I'm not really sure how it will break down, yet. Thanks again for the reviews and encouragement. Thanks also to the ever faithful editors (Mom and mei mei) and my beta (J.A.Carlton - when do we get the next chapter of "Field of Deans," eh? ;) ). Love.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer – Usual

Chapter 22

One Saturday morning in mid-October, while Peter was still sleeping and Remus was "away," Sirius and James were amusing themselves by listening for the sound of girls walking down the steps from their dorms. As soon as they heard the girls coming, they'd step foot on the staircase. They would then laugh maniacally as a klaxon sounded and the stairs turned into a slide and, with a scream, whatever poor girl happened to be walking down the stairs, now found herself sliding to the bottom. Several students, particularly the guys, grumbled at the boys since the klaxon had awakened them, but many watched in amusement as the girls slid to the bottom of the stairs.

Many of the first-years were taken completely by surprise and landed in awkward heaps at the bottom. James and Sirius would then, very graciously, offer to help them up off the floor. A few of the older girls, who were used to the unexpected shifts in the castle, simply slid to the bottom gracefully. The boys still offered their hands to help them up.

"Oo, Evans and Gillette," Sirius whispered when he identified the next set of voices coming down the stairwell. Lily Evans was a particular favorite for the Marauders to torment. The fiery redhead often laid into them, particularly for pranking younger students. She was wickedly funny and could hold her own in verbal sparring matches with the boys, and she occasionally fired back with a spell of her own. The added danger of retaliation only served to spur the boys on to see what she would do next.

James grinned in Cheshire fashion, and the two boys counted to three, then they stepped on the stairs, which collapsed into the slide. With a scream and a laugh, Lily and Gillette found themselves at the bottom of the stairs.

James offered to help Lily up, and Sirius took Gillette's hand.

Lily looked up and saw the perpetrators of this offense. "Oh, should have known it'd be you. How many times has it been this morning?" And she got up without taking James' hand.

"Look at that, Sirius. She recognizes our handy work."

"Yes, anything this lame would have to be you," Lily replied.

Sirius watched amusedly as his friend searched for a comeback. As he watched, he casually rested his elbow on Gillette's shoulder. They exchanged glances and smiles. Sirius was entertained; unbeknownst to him, Gillette was blushing and smiling for an entirely different reason.

"Ah, but you laughed. It couldn't have been that lame."

"When there is nothing intelligent around with which to be amused, sometimes one has to allow oneself to be amused by simple people. I mean things," she said haughtily.

At this comment, Sirius barked out a laugh.

Lily's vivid green eyes gleamed triumphantly as she watched James struggle to find something to say. With a satisfied nod, she turned to Gillette. "Shall we continue to breakfast or wait for Patty and Leena?"

Gillette looked at Sirius, who shifted so he was no longer leaning on her. Gillette shrugged, "Let's go. I'm starved. They'll catch up."

James cast Sirius a scandalized glance. "You were a big help."

Sirius laughed. "I'm not getting in the middle of that. I've seen what that girl can do with a wand."

Peter walked groggily down the stairs from the boys' dorm.

"Finally!" James said irritably.

Peter looked questioningly at Sirius.

"Oh, he's just upset because Lily got the better of him."

"Again?" Peter asked innocently, causing Sirius to start laughing again.

James started grumbling to himself about lack of respect and girls as he headed for the portrait hole and breakfast.

In the common room that night, Sirius was staring out the window, taking a break from his Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment. The new professor was an odd woman who tended to stop mid-sentence as if she'd forgotten what she was talking about. After a moment, she'd pick up right were she left off. Some of the students had started joking that she heard voices and had to stop and listen to them on occasion.

James was trying to explain to Peter the difference between a jinx and a hex when he noticed that Sirius was suddenly paying very close attention to something outside.

"What are you looking at?" James asked.

Sirius returned James' question with one of his own. "Is it a full moon tonight?"

"Dunno. Why? What do you see?"

"Nothing. I'm just thinking… I'll be right back." And with that Sirius ran up to their dorm. After a moment, he came back down, skipping every other step.

"Astronomy?" James asked.

Sirius cuffed James lightly on the back of the head. "Yeah. The moon and all… " Sirius frowned.

"What?" James insisted.

"Remember what we talked about on the train? … About Remus' trips home?"

"About them being regular?"

"Monthly." Sirius stated simply.

He stared at James, trying to communicate without speaking. He didn't want to say anything for fear he was wrong. So he waited to see if James would come to the same conclusion with what little information Sirius had fed him.

After a moment, the light of dawning comprehension lit in James' eyes and he grabbed the astronomy book. Once he confirmed his thought, he sat down hard and looked back at Sirius.

"His mum?" James asked.

Sirius sat down close to James so they could talk quietly. "I don't think so. Listen… Remember the night I spent in the hospital wing last year?"

James nodded.

"Well, Remus was there. He didn't go home that weekend. In fact, he told me his mum wasn't really sick and he didn't go home to take care of her."

James ran his hand through his dark hair, making it stick out at odd angels and adding to the disheveled look it usually had. "Why didn't he tell the rest of us?"

"Well, can you blame him? I mean, if it's what we think it is?"

James thought for a moment then a new thought occurred to him, "You knew and didn't say anything?"

Sirius shrugged, "I didn't know what it meant at the time. Besides… I promised."

James accepted this answer. "We need to hit the library. How are we going to look into this without him knowing?"

"Why not just ask him? I don't think he'll lie if we ask him to his face."

"No. I want to be more sure. I mean… This is… This is big!"

"Got it!" Peter exclaimed, holding his quill up triumphantly. James and Sirius looked at him expectantly. "The difference between a hex and a jinx…" Peter's voice trailed off. Sirius and James both shook their heads in disbelief. "I have the feeling I missed something again."

James smiled and put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "Don't worry, Peter. You'll find out soon enough."

During the week that followed, Remus noticed a change in Sirius and James' behavior. They were a little more secretive and he'd caught them whispering a few times. Occasionally, he'd catch one of them watching him thoughtfully, and he began to worry. He decided, however, that he would not confront them. If they knew anything, they would, inevitably, come to him. But if he was just being paranoid, then there was nothing to worry about. So he tried to ignore the behavior.

Fortunately, the attention of twelve-year-old boys is easily diverted. November hailed the opening of the Quidditch season and James' first official match. For all his confidence and swagger, he barely ate or spoke the morning of the game.

"You'll do fine, mate," Sirius said, reassuringly clapping him on the back.

James left breakfast early to meet the team at the Quidditch pitch.

Remus, Peter, and Sirius headed to the stands. They were sporting their usual red and gold hair and they had made signs that read "Way to go, Potter," "Go James," and "Gryffindors Rule."

The game, which was Gryffindor verses Slytherin, was an exciting one. James was obviously very good. Because of his relatively small size and rookie status, the Slytherins were gunning for him. But James was not deterred and, in fact, used his size to his advantage. Among his more impressive moves of the game, he shot right between the two Slytherin beaters to make a goal. His fellow chaser, Frank Longbottom, was hit with a bludger and lost his grip on the quaffle. Tailed by the Slytherin chasers, James went into a twenty foot dive to rescue the lost ball. He plucked it out of the air and tossed it back to Frank, who had regained control, allowing him to make a goal. The Gryffindors out-skilled the Slytherins, and it was just a matter of which seeker would find the snitch first. After just a few short minutes, Jules, the Gryffindor seeker, shot like an arrow across the playing field, barely dodging the activity around her, and beat the Slytherin seeker to the snitch. Gryffindor won 210 to 40. It could not have been a better opening for the young team.

His friends, for their part, had yelled themselves hoarse cheering him on.

Gryffindor had their usual victory party after the game with food, drinks, and the occasional fireworks. Frank was being lovingly attended to by his girlfriend Alice. The team captain, Weatherton, congratulated Jules and James for their fine performances during the game. And even Lily praised James' skill.

The excitement of Gryffindor's first victory died down just as it was time for Remus to make another trip "home."

"What do you reckon? Tomorrow night he'll tell us he has to leave again?" Sirius whispered to James in Potions class.

"Mm-hmm," James nodded, trying very hard not to spill any extra lilac essence into his potion.

And, just as predicted, the next night Remus said, "I'll be leaving again tomorrow night."

"Right on time," Sirius said, more snidely than he intended.

"What does that mean?" Remus asked, not really wanting an answer.

James interrupted, "It's just been a while since you went home. We were expecting… I've never seen you get an owl."

Remus was thrown by the change in the conversation. "What?"

"Nothing," James said thoughtfully.

"He means, how do you know when your father wants you to come home when you never get an owl telling you it's time?" Sirius never was one to back down, and the thought had never occurred to him before – further confirming what James and he thought.

"Well, I..." Remus started, but Sirius held up his hand.

"Don't," he said warningly. Sirius hated being lied to and he didn't think he would be able to restrain himself from spilling what he and James suspected if Remus started making excuses.

The boys let the conversation drop for now, though Remus knew this wasn't over.

- - - - -

A/N - Thanks again to those who read and review and are continuing to stick with the story. Thanks also to the new people who've joined us. Thanks, too, to my ever faithful editors (Mom and mei mei) and my lovely beta (J.A.Carlton). Love.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer - Usual. Not mine.

Chapter 23

Remus headed to the hospital wing, but a bad feeling followed him the whole way there. He wasn't sure if it was directly related to the transformation, or if it had to do with the conversation from the night before. He was sure that if James and Sirius didn't already know, they were a breath away from finding out. What he didn't understand was, if they knew, why weren't they saying anything? Why let him continue the facade? Were they planning on exposing him publicly and were just biding their time for the right moment? These and other questions ran through his head and made him nervous.

His transformations, however, had also started to change. He noticed over the summer that he was actually starting to remember things. At first, he thought they were just dreams, but then he realized the vividness was too real compared to any other dreams he'd had before. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of remembering… anything.

Remus reached the hospital wing, and he and Madam Pomfrey fell into their usual rhythm. She gathered her cloak and made pleasant conversation while he walked with her to the tree, and then the shack.

All the while, their progress was followed by three boys hidden under an invisibility cloak.

When Remus reached the hospital wing, Peter said, "Tell me again why you think he's a werewolf?" James and Sirius had a tendency to come up with unusual ideas about people, but none had been as terrifying or personal as this one. Peter still wasn't sure if this was real or some elaborate scam they were trying to pull on him. It just sounded so ridiculous – Remus, a werewolf.

"Shh!" James demanded.

"But… Why come to the hospital wing?" Peter asked again.

"That's what we're trying to find out. Now be quiet or I will silence you myself!" Sirius snarled. He looked at James and pointed to the hospital wing, wondering if they should enter, but just then Remus re-emerged with Madam Pomfrey.

The three Marauders followed them through the castle and out onto school grounds. They hung back when Madam Pomfrey approached the Whomping Willow. They watched her cast a spell that hit the bottom of the tree, and then she and Remus entered a barely visible tunnel entrance.

"Well… Should we follow?" Sirius asked.

"Nnno. I don't think so. We don't want to be caught in the tunnel when they start coming back out," James answered.

"Assuming they do come back out. Though, if she's escorting him somewhere off grounds to transform, she'll at least have to return," Sirius reasoned. "Wonder where that tunnel goes."

The three boys decided to sit and wait to see what would happen. They figured Remus was taken off grounds since no one in the castle ever heard howling of any kind.

"Werewolf," Peter said incredulously while shaking his head.

After a while, Madam Pomfrey did indeed exit the Whomping Willow and return to the castle.

"Let's go," Sirius said, and headed for the tree.

"Wait!" Peter said in a scared, squeaky voice. "You're heading for the tree?"

"Yeah. It's the best way to get into the tunnel." Sirius was getting frustrated by Peter – first his lack of belief, and now his fear of the tree.

"What do you reckon? A stunning spell?" James asked.

Sirius shrugged.

"_Stupify_." James looked at Sirius questioningly, wondering if the spell worked.

Sirius nodded once and stepped forward to test the tree. He got within ten feet of the trunk when one of the tree's massive limbs came swinging down at him. He dodged it and a second swing from a smaller branch, before rolling out of harm's way.

Panting, Sirius said, "No good. Let's try it together. Ready Peter?"

Peter paused and was about to protest, but he saw the determined look in the eyes of his two friends and pulled out his wand. "Ready."

All three cast the spell this time.

The night was still, and it was hard to tell if the tree was actually stunned or just waiting.

Sirius stepped forward again. This time he got a little closer before one of the branches swung out. This meant he had farther to retreat. He managed to evade the first two swings. He barely dodged a third strike and had to summersault out of the way of the branch. He was just regaining his footing when another branch hit him in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground. Fortunately, the momentum took him out of range of the tree.

"Sirius!" James ran forward to where his friend was lying.

"Ow." Sirius said, not moving yet. When James entered his field of vision, he said, "Next time, you're testing the tree."

James smiled and reached out a hand to pull Sirius up. Once Sirius was standing, James asked, "You all right?"

Sirius had his hand wrapped around his opposite shoulder. "Yeah. I'll be stiff tomorrow, but nothing's broken."

"I think… we'll just have to wait until morning."

So the boys sat and waited. Peter fell asleep. Sirius and James amused themselves by poking him with sticks and sticking leaves in his ears. Sirius had to follow through on his earlier threat to silence Peter as his snores resonated around the open grounds. They watched Hagrid enter the Forbidden Forest at one point during the night. He was carrying his crossbow. Sirius and James made up stories about what Hagrid might be doing in the forest, and what kinds of creatures lived there. Since it was mid November, the night was fairly cold. The boys decided to conjure a blue fire. They figured it would be the least visible. For further cover, they entered the edge of the forest, but made sure not to go too far in. James eventually fell asleep, but he made Sirius promise to wake him and take turns acting as lookout until sunrise.

When Sirius finally nudged James awake, he pointed in the direction of the tree. The sky was just beginning to lighten when Madam Pomfrey entered the tunnel. The boys woke Peter up, with some difficulty, and they all sat and watched.

The sun was hovering over the horizon when Madam Pomfrey exited the tunnel, awkwardly carrying something in her arms.

Sirius squinted. "Is that…"

"Remus!" And without thinking, James dashed out from under the cover of the trees and cloak and ran straight toward Madam Pomfrey.

"Hey!" Peter yelled as Sirius grabbed the invisibility cloak and shoved it in his robe. He took off running after James.

Madam Pomfrey heard the rush of footsteps coming toward her and she turned to see three boys running at her. She cradled Remus closer, trying, unsuccessfully, to protect him from sight.

James halted in front of her, his eyes fixed on his unconscious friend.

Remus was wrapped in a blanket and looked deathly pale. Though he was covered, James could see that he was wounded and bleeding freely.

Sirius came up next to James and he also froze. "Bloody hell," he whispered. He reached out tentatively to touch Remus. "He looks…"

"Dead," James finished. He turned pleading eyes to Madam Pomfrey.

"No dears. He's not dead. But I must get him to the hospital wing soon, before any of the damage to his body becomes permanent."

"We'll carry him," James asserted.

Madam Pomfrey looked uncertainly at the boys, including Peter who had stopped a few feet away. "Okay." She shifted Remus, causing him to groan and the boys next to her to wince, than she conjured a stretcher and gently laid Remus on it.

James immediately went to the head and Sirius to the foot, and they lifted it between them, carrying Remus like a fallen comrade. Madam Pomfrey took a slightly out of the way route to the hospital wing to avoid any early risers. But they arrived without meeting anyone and the boys lifted Remus so she could shift him onto a bed.

"You'll have to wait out there." She pointed to the waiting area, closed the curtains around Remus, and began tending to him, occasionally made trips to the supply room for various items.

The boys watched in sullen silence. Whatever emotions they had been feeling earlier were cast aside in the concern for their friend.

After what seemed like ages, Madam Pomfrey approached the boys. "I have a breakfast tray set up for you over by Remus' bed. I imagine you will have a lot to talk about when he wakes up. And… it would be best to do it here, in private." With that, she walked away and hoped for the best.

- - - - -

A/N - Again, I want to thank all who review and/or add me to their alerts. It's been fun getting to chat with some of you too, so thanks for that. Thanks also to my editors - Mom and mei mei - and my blessed beta - J.A. Carlton. Thanks also to the new people who have joined the journey. I'm glad you've found us and decided to come along. Thanks.

Special thanks to Nonair. Sorry I didn't get to respond to your reviews, but I appreciate them just the same. Thank you.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer - Usual. I don't own the 'verse, but I'm enjoying visiting it.

Chapter 24

As Remus came to, he did his usual wound inventory. He had recently added trying to see what he could remember from the night before to this inventory. He heard quiet whispering and tried to recall where the whispering came from. Not able to remember anything specific, he listened to the "memory."

"I think he's coming around."

While Remus didn't grasp what the words meant, he recognized James' voice. Panic swept through him as the horrible thought he had somehow managed to escape overwhelmed him. He sat bolt upright with a gasp. Seeing the three smiling faces of his friends in front of him, however, only served to send another wave of panic through him and he scrambled backwards. Being disoriented, he misjudged the space he had and landed on the floor next to his bed. Breathing hard, he looked up when he heard movement.

"Now that was graceful," Peter joked from his chair next to Remus' bed.

James had walked around the foot of the bed to get a look at him. "You might want to be careful, mate. Falling out of bed like that… it's gotta hurt."

Sirius' head popped over the side the bed, "You know, that extra beauty sleep you're getting… It's not really workin' for ya."

James reached out his hand to help Remus off of the floor. Remus stared at the others in confusion and disbelief. "Looks a bit like a deer," James joked, hand still held out. Sirius laughed.

Slowly, Remus regained the use of his brain. Though his thoughts were still confused and incoherent, he reached out and let James help him up. He sat on the bed next to Sirius, who had already made himself comfortable. James sat down on the foot of Remus' bed, and Peter scooted his chair closer.

"Wha… Um… What are you guys doing here?" Remus suddenly realized he was heavily bandaged and he self-consciously put his legs back under his blankets and tried to hide his arms.

The other three boys exchanged looks. Sirius shrugged and said, "We just came to visit our favorite werewolf."

Remus' eyes grew wide before he suddenly leaned forward and hid his face in his hands.

"Whoa. Relax there, mate," Sirius said, placing a hand on Remus back. Sirius and James exchanged concerned looks.

He tensed, but didn't move. He was having too much trouble breathing to contemplate moving. But then he felt another hand on his leg. He looked up at James.

"You all right?" James asked quietly.

Feeling confined by the close proximity of the other boys, Remus jumped out of the bed and started pacing.

He stopped suddenly, at about the halfway point of the bed – halfway between Sirius and James. Fisting both hands in his hair, he looked and felt panicked. "What are you going to do?" The question had a pleading quality to it. An unspoken request for mercy.

"Well first," Sirius began, "we're going to sit with you, if that's okay."

James picked up from there, "Then, when you're ready, we'd like to ask you questions."

And finally Peter spoke, "And then we're going to help you, in any way we can." It was a testimony to Peter's loyalty that he said this despite his own terror. The other two boys had had several weeks to digest the possibility that Remus was a werewolf. He'd had barely a night. But he also knew that any hesitancy on his part would leave him shunned and friendless. He wasn't ready to lose his friends, not over this.

It seemed to take a few seconds for all these statements to sink in, but Remus finally let go of his hair. After another moment, he even crawled back onto the bed.

"So you're not going to tell anyone?" he asked.

"And ruin the best secret of our young lives?" Sirius answered with a smile. "Though, in some ways, I wish I could tell my parents. They'd have a fit! I can almost hear the dulcet sound of my sweet mum's voice, 'You've befriended a half-breed? How much more shame can you bring to our house?' Ahh… Happy thoughts."

"No," James said in a slightly warning tone, glancing at Sirius. "We are _not_ going to tell anyone. And Peter's right, we're going to try to help you any way we can."

"Thanks," Remus said appreciatively, "but I don't really think there's anything you can do."

"Oo, Wait!" Sirius said excitedly. "Werewolves only attack humans, right?"

"Yeeaah…"

"Well… What if we were animals?" Sirius asked.

Remus shook his head, but James eyes grew wide with enthusiasm. "Yes! That's brilliant! Then we could keep you company."

"No, no, no. What would that accomplish? How would that help?"

Sirius grabbed one of Remus' arms and held it out. There were two bandages on his left arm alone. "We'd keep you occupied, at least."

Remus flushed with embarrassment. He was so used to keeping his lycanthropy a secret, that to have it so openly displayed was disconcerting. He pulled his arm out of Sirius' grasp. But what they were saying was true. Werewolves were not a threat to animals, and perhaps, with something live to interact with, he would deal less violently with himself.

"But then wouldn't everyone find out about him?" Peter asked. "I mean, we'd need a lot of help. And then we'd have to register with the ministry. Someone is bound to ask questions. They're not going to just let us become animagi."

The thrill of hope that Remus felt flickered.

"Who says we have to tell anyone?" James suggested.

"But it's illegal if you don't register," Remus answered. He didn't want to be the cause of his friends being sent to prison.

"So?" Sirius replied simply. He winked and whispered conspiratorially, "It's called a secret for a reason."

"Okay, do we all agree?" James asked.

Remus said, half sarcastically, "I feel like we need a secret handshake or something."

Peter stood up and held out his hand in the middle of the group. "I do…"

Remus put in his hand, "… solemnly swear…"

"That I…" James added his hand.

With a wicked grin, Sirius completed the pact and placed his hand on top, "… am up to no good."

- - - - -

The search for information on how to become an animagus had come to a near standstill. The four boys sat at the top of a stairwell, discussing the matter. The stairwell, it just so happened, overlooked the Entrance Hall.

"Well, I think the only way to get more information is to get into the restricted section of the library," Remus offered.

"Avery," Peter said quietly.

James looked through the slots of the banister and took aim at Avery. He whispered the trip jinx and the four boys laughed quietly as Avery tripped over nothing and went sprawling to the floor.

"I think Remus is right," Sirius continued. "I don't suppose anyone can think of a good excuse to get a pass from a professor? – Oo, Bulstrode." And Sirius performed that jinx himself.

A few students in the entrance hall laughed as Bulstrode tripped and dropped her books.

"There's always the invisibility cloak, too," James reminded them.

"Wilkes," Remus said. James hexed Wilkes, who was quick enough to catch himself. He looked back at the spot on the floor as if expecting to see something there.

"Right. We want to get in there anyway…"

"Lestrange," James interrupted Sirius.

"Allow me," and with a point of Sirius' wand, Rastaban Lestrange tumbled into a group of Ravenclaw girls. The Marauders laughed heartily as they watched Lestrange fumble over himself in apology. "Where was I? Oh yes... We need to find a spell to help us locate hidden passages. I'm sure we've missed some. There're too many blank areas on the map."

"Hiding while you snipe at your enemies? And I thought Gryffindors were supposed to have courage," the harsh sound of Snape's voice startled the boys. His voice was always quiet, but it carried clearly and threateningly. Peter squeaked and backed himself into the wall. Remus kept his attention on the book he was holding, as if ignoring Snape would make him go away.

"Go away, Snivellus," Sirius ordered.

"Or what? You'll trip me down the stairs?" Snape retorted.

"Now there's a thought," Sirius said, donning a misty-eyed expression.

Snape appraised him before turning to James. "It just so happens, I've informed Professor McGonagall what you are up to. I imagine she'll be here in a few seconds. I don't want to miss this." Snape smiled malevolently.

"You need a hobby," James said. "Why don't you go run off with your little friends and… Oh wait, you don't have any friends. Wonder why that is?"

Snape grimaced in anger and took a step forward, but the sound of Professor McGonagall's approach reached their ears, and he smugly stepped away again.

"So," Professor McGonagall began when she arrived, "Mr. Snape tells me you've been hexing random students."

Sirius said, "I wouldn't say they were random." James immediately elbowed him in the side. Sirius muffled his "ow" with a sudden coughing fit.

McGonagall sighed and shook her head. "Very well. Detention tomorrow night. Be at my office by seven."

Once she and Snape walked away, James said, "You know, I think we're wearing her down. We didn't even lose any points that time."

The next night, as the boys were heading out of the common room for their detention, Lily stopped them. "Detention again?" she said disapprovingly. "At least you didn't lose us any points this time."

"That's exactly what I said," James replied.

"We think Minnie's taken a liking to us," Sirius said with a wink at Gillette and Patty, who started giggling.

With a roll of her eyes, Lily said, "I think it's more like pity."

"Nah, who would pity us? There's nothing to pity. Plenty to like, though," James said in a very self-assured manner.

"Honestly, Potter, could that head get any bigger?"

"Why, Evans? Want more?" James smiled.

"Oh please." And with that, Lily grabbed Gillette's arm and the three girls walked away.

The boys had almost reached the portrait hole when James suddenly tripped and fell into Remus.

"Oi. Watch it!" Remus said.

Sirius started laughing when he glanced back and saw the satisfied smile playing on Lily's lips. He clapped James on the shoulder comfortingly, as James struggled to regain his composure. "She gotcha mate."

James took a last look back as the portrait was about to close. His eyes locked with Lily's and he felt his stomach flutter. He whispered, "That she does, mate. That she does."

- - - - -

A/N I know that I did not use the exact wording of the famous phrase, but I figured it would undergo a change here and there until they got the map finished. Plus… I needed them all to say part of it, so… artistic license. :)

Thanks again for the review and interest in the story. Thank you, to my editors (Mom and mei mei) and my beta (J.A.Carlton). Thanks to you who have left suggestions for me on how to make the story better, or at least flow a little better. I am trying to follow your advice, and I appreciate the honesty. Thank you.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer - Usual.

Chapter 25

"I think Remus should ask for a pass," Sirius suggested.

"And why would I need a pass into the restricted section?" Remus asked.

James answered, "You could say you're doing research on your furry little problem."

"My what?" Remus asked, not believing he heard what he thought he heard.

"You know. What? Would you prefer I call it your monthly cycle?"

"NO!" Remus turned bright red and Sirius and Peter tried, unsuccessfully, to keep from laughing. "Blimey! Fine, fine, I'll ask. Just stop coming up with names for… well…"

"Your furry little problem," James reiterated. Remus rolled his eyes.

The Marauders served their detention with Professor McGonagall, then Peter, Sirius and James waited in the hall while Remus stayed behind to ask for the pass.

After a minute, he came out holding the pass out for the other boys to see. "I got it but, for the record, I don't like lying to Professor McGonagall."

"Fair enough. Next time we'll sneak in and steal the books we need… It's not like this doesn't technically have something to do with… your problem," Sirius said with a smirk, knowing that Remus would see lying as the lesser of two evils.

The added bonus of having the pass was that they could enter the restricted section during the day. All four boys agreed that, for their first visit, daytime was best. That section of the library was creepy and filled with books that were chained and whispered to anyone who passed. One even seemed to be oozing something that looked suspiciously like blood onto the floor. The liquid disappeared, however, as soon as it hit the floor.

They searched through the titles, picking up as few of the volumes as possible, and finally found one that covered animagi. Remus pulled it off the shelf and took it to a table to look at while James and Sirius stood over his shoulder.

"Bugger," Sirius said in a hushed voice.

"What?" Peter asked.

Remus sighed frustratedly and closed the volume. "Well, so much for that."

"What?" Peter asked more insistently.

"It's an incredibly complex – and advanced – piece of magic. There's no way you're going to be able to learn it."

James reopened the book and looked over the pages carefully. "It requires non-verbal spell casting…" he said half to himself and half to Peter who hadn't seen the explanation of the spell. "Well, we learn that here. I'm sure we can figure that out."

Sirius leaned in too. "Yeah, but this wand-less magic – we don't even cover that here. We'd have to be pretty powerful to even attempt it. And I'm not sure…" Sirius' voice trailed off as he glanced up at Peter.

Peter knew that others thought he was weak. He didn't really think he was particularly talented, either, but he needed to try. He needed to prove, once and for all, if he was really part of this group. "We can do it," he said, a little more confidently than he felt.

James and Sirius looked up at him.

"Really. Look, wizards have to learn how to perform wand-less magic from somewhere, right? So, we just have to find the right resource. We can learn it."

"But wand-less magic takes an incredible amount of power, concentration, and discipline," Remus disputed.

"We won't know if we can do it unless we try." Peter stated.

Sirius and James exchanged glances. The excitement was building again. "Think of the challenge," Sirius added, while James nodded.

"If we can do this, we can do almost anything. I agree with Peter. I say we give it a go."

Remus looked at them all skeptically. "I appreciate what you are trying to do for me, but honestly, this is dangerous. It's not just a matter of not being able to cast a spell. Things could go seriously wrong."

"That's why it's going to take all of us," James said, while Sirius and Peter shook their heads in agreement.

Remus sighed heavily again, contemplating what they were about to try. "This could take years to get."

"Come on, Remus! We can do this. So it will take some time and practice… and learning a few things we shouldn't even know about. It will be worth it if we succeed," Sirius persuaded.

"Or you could get killed trying." Remus stared at the three determined faces of his friends. Finally, he held up his hands in defeat. "Fine! But don't say I didn't warn you."

"Excellent!" Sirius said. "So what's first, Professor?"

Remus smirked at the nickname. "Well, I'll need to copy all of this information down. And we'll need the counterspell. I imagine returning to human form is going to take as much practice as turning into your animal. Then… we can get started. While I'm copying this down, you all can be looking for that spell to find secret passages."

James leaned over and whispered to Sirius, loud enough for Remus to hear him, "Look at him. Call him 'professor' and he gets all dictatorial on us." Remus smiled and shook his head, but continued writing.

After an hour in the library, Remus said, "Done! How are you coming along?"

Sirius replied, "I actually found a couple of spells that might work depending on the type of passage. One is for detecting hollow places behind walls. One is for detecting enchantments. One reveals passwords, but only of a certain nature – whatever that means…"

Remus interrupted, "Good. Okay. Well, it looks like the first thing we're going to have to learn is non-verbal spells. If we can get those down, we're on our way."

The rest of term flew by in a flurry of activity. There were the usual Quidditch practices, another Quidditch match, between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and the occasional detention. Plus, Remus was out of the game for two days due to his "furry little problem." By the time the term ended, the Marauders had made frustratingly little progress on their road to becoming animagi.

"What's everyone else got planned for the holidays?" James asked.

"Mine should be pleasant," Remus said. "No transformation this time. I think it will be the first time since I was four that my parents haven't had to deal with it."

"Mum hasn't said anything about special plans. But most likely that's because John's going to be around," Peter said with utmost disgust. Sirius and James snickered. Peter just looked sulky.

"Well, I have no idea what tortures are in store for me. I'm taking bets, though, if anyone wants to hazard any guesses." Sirius' unconcerned words were belied by his near constant fidgeting and nervous energy.

"Man, this would be the perfect Christmas for you to come visit at my house, especially for you, Remus. It'd be great. My parents would love to have you," James offered.

"That would be out of the question for me," Sirius replied.

"Why? We're a respectable pure-blood family. I wouldn't think they'd have too much to say."

Sirius snorted bitterly, "Are you kidding? Your family is among the biggest blood-traitors of our time. My folks consider your family a total disgrace to all things… pure. I think only the Weasleys might be looked down upon more, and that's because your family has, at least, maintained its influence and money."

"Really? Blood-traitors, huh?" James asked indignantly.

"Don't worry, mate. I'm sure I'll be joining you soon enough." Again Sirius' light tone was betrayed by his frown.

"Well, Remus and Peter. You're still welcome."

"Thanks. I'll ask," Remus said with a smile. As childish as it sounded, he'd never been invited to spend the night at a friend's house before, and though he had been looking forward to down time with his family, the offer was tempting.

"I may take you up on that, too," Peter said, brow still furrowed the way it always did when he thought of John.

When the boys got off the train, Sirius looked around for his parents. Not seeing them right away, he followed the others to the Lupins.

"Mum, Dad. This is my friend, Sirius Black." Remus had not had opportunity to introduce Sirius to his family previously.

Mrs. Lupin held out her hand, which Sirius took. "Nice to meet you, dear."

"Good to meet you, Sirius. I must say, you're not what I expected," Mr. Lupin commented.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Sirius replied graciously. Mr. Lupin nodded and smiled.

"Ah, Mrs. Pettigrew," Mrs. Lupin said. She noticed the woman was standing off to the side, slightly, looking warily at Sirius. Mrs. Pettigrew was still suspicious of Sirius, blaming him for all bad things for which her son got in trouble.

"Yes, nice to see you again, Mr., Mrs. Lupin. Come along, Peter."

"Mum, James invited me over for a visit during the holidays. Would that be okay?" Peter asked.

Mrs. Pettigrew seemed to think about this, but she was squinting at Sirius.

"Don't worry, ma'am. I won't be there."

Sirius' forwardness caught her off guard. "I… wasn't…" She regained a semblance of her composure and, sadly, Sirius' comment was exactly what she wanted to know. "Yes, dear. That would be fine. James, just have your parents owl us to set up the time."

"Okay." James couldn't help but grin. He was impressed by Sirius' boldness and amused at the reaction on Mrs. Pettigrew's part.

Remus' parents, too, seemed to be suddenly very interested in their cloaks, in an attempt not to laugh.

Poor Peter, however, flushed with embarrassment. But he followed his mother as she walked away. She was so thrown, she forgot her manners and didn't say good-bye.

James jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw his father and mother had joined them. He grinned widely when he saw them.

"Hey! Mum, Dad, this is Sirius Black."

"So good to finally meet you, Sirius," Mrs. Potter said, in a surprisingly gentle and motherly tone.

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter," Sirius beamed at her.

"James has told us a lot about you," Mr. Potter added. "It's nice to know he's made such great friends." Mr. Potter turned to include Remus in that statement. "Did we miss Peter?"

There was some minor snickering among the boys, but James said, "Yeah. His mum already got him."

"Sirius!"

Surprised, Sirius looked around. "Bugger!" he said under his breath.

"What's she doing here?" James asked in a hushed voice as he saw Bellatrix and Narcissa approaching. James was surprised when he felt his father's hand tighten on his shoulder.

"What do you want, Bella?" Sirius asked.

Bellatrix stopped a few feet from Sirius and didn't bother to acknowledge any of his companions. "I'm taking you home."

"What? Why?"

"I'm spending some time with your mum… She's helping me plan my wedding."

"You're not staying with us are you?" Sirius couldn't seem to drop his incredulous tone. Not that he cared to.

With a not-so-pleasant twinkle in her eye, Bellatrix answered, "Actually, I am. Won't that be fun? Now come." And she turned and walked away, Narcissa close behind her.

"Arf," Sirius said quietly. Sounding rather dejected, Sirius said, "Have a good holiday, mates." He walked away before anyone could say anything to him.

"Well… that was odd," Mrs. Lupin commented.

"Mm-hmm. Oh," James turned to his parents. "Can Remus come visit?" Turning back to the Lupins, James continued, "If it's okay with you, of course."

Remus looked up at his parents. "I don't…" Mrs. Lupin started hesitantly.

"That would be a wonderful idea," Mr. Lupin interrupted. "Just owl us to let us know when is a good time for you."

"Excellent!" James said. He and Remus grinned at each other.

"Well, we should be getting home," Mrs. Lupin said. "Perhaps we could all visit together sometime."

"That would be lovely," Mrs. Potter said.

The boys waved to each other as the families parted ways, and another holiday began.

- - - - -

A/N - Thank you m'lovies. Thanks for the reviews - letting me know what you think of the story. Thanks, also, to my editors (mom and mei mei) and my lovely beta (J.A.Carlton). You're wonderful. Thank you.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer - Usual.

Chapter 26

Arriving at his home in the company of his cousins did not give Sirius much hope that this holiday was going to be any better than last year. He wasn't even sure if the restrictions from the previous year would be put back in place, since he had obviously "reverted" to his rebellious behavior of his first school year. As he stepped onto the landing of the Black home, he glanced around the neighborhood. A sudden, irrational urge to run flittered through his mind, but he held fast and smiled to himself. _See mother, I do have self-control._

Sirius and his cousins entered the house and were immediately greeted by his mother. She beamed at Bellatrix and held out her arms in welcome.

"Bellatrix, dear. Narcissa. So glad you could come. I've been going over some things in the library if you'd like to meet me there." She then turned to her son and all signs of welcome vanished. In a slightly raised voice she commanded, "Your father is expecting you in his study. Go!"

Resigned to whatever was to come, Sirius nodded and headed to "the gallows." Sirius entered the study and waited to be acknowledged before speaking or sitting.

After a minute, Mr. Black spoke. "Sirius, son…" Sirius was put on guard by the unusually warm greeting. "I have in my possession no less than five letters from Hogwarts regarding your behavior and detentions served. I have also heard that you continue to associate with… people unbecoming the Black Heir. Son, we have tried to appeal to your sense of reason. That obviously failed. Let me now appeal to your sense of honor."

As his mother quietly entered the room, Sirius wondered where his father was going with this.

"You are a part of one of the most prestigious wizard families of our day. You aren't just a part of the family; you are our heir – our hope for the future. We have tried to instill in you the values and beliefs of our family, as well as the knowledge and behavior it will take to run this family and maintain its good standing. We have given you everything you need – most everything you want. The best of everything. All we expect in return is that you live up to the name you've been given."

"Why can't I live up to your standards and not believe what you believe?" Sirius asked, almost pleadingly.

"What we believe is wrapped up in our name. It is part of what makes us who we are. Is it so wrong to want a better future for wizards?"

"You mean pure-bloods – a better future for pure-bloods. Why can't that better future include muggles and half-bloods?"

"Because they're killing us off. The more mixture there is, the weaker the wizard line becomes."

"I've heard all these arguments before. Remember, I spent last summer with Grandfather. I also know that had we not intermarried with muggles, wizards would have died off a long time ago."

"Only the ones not worth having around. The pure-bloods are still strong." Sirius was about to argue the point, but his father held up his hand. "I said appealing to your reason would not work. You were born into not only a position of privilege, but also of rank. You have talent and a good head." Sirius was surprised to hear this. He'd never gotten such an open compliment from his father before. "But you also have a duty. It is our blood that flows through your veins and makes you who you are. It's time to perform your duty and take your place as heir."

"I can't just turn my back on everything I believe… On my friends. I won't."

"Stupid boy!" Mrs. Black finally interrupted. "Have you not listened to a thing your father said? This is Not. About. You!"

"No," Sirius said. This was more the conversation he was used to. "It never is!"

"Walburga," Mr. Black calmed his wife. Turning his attention back to his son, he said, "Every child, especially those with the amount of responsibility you have to shoulder, at times desires a life he cannot have. But there comes a time when you have to put aside what you want and grow up. Have we spoiled you that much? Allowed you to become so selfish that you refuse to put anyone else first?"

"No sir," Sirius replied. What his mother could not do in anger, his father was getting close to accomplishing with guilt and shame.

"Do you hate this family that much? What have we done to you besides try to raise you to take your most important place in this family?"

"I'm sorry, sir," and for once Sirius genuinely was. "I just think you're wrong about being a pure-blood."

"Very well. Go to your room," Mr. Black said resignedly.

Rather surprised that the conversation had not disintegrated into an arguing match or worse, Sirius stood outside the study doors for a minute, thinking. As he was standing there, he heard his mother speak.

"He's weak, Orion. He will never be able to handle being head of this family. He will never be able to do what needs to be done. And our house will fall because of him."

"Maybe," was all Mr. Black said.

Sirius walked sullenly to his room. He knew what he believed. So why was it so hard to not care what his parents thought? And what if his father was correct? What if he was just being a selfish, rebellious brat?

The next morning, Mr. Black called his son into his study and laid a copy of _The Daily Prophet_ in front of him. On the front page there was a large article about the recent murder of an entire wizard family.

Sirius, not having eaten breakfast yet, lost his appetite as he read the article. According to the paper, a large green skull with a serpent coming out of its mouth was hovering over the house when wizards from the Ministry came to investigate. A note, of sorts, was left, written using the blood of one of the victims. It simply stated "Impure." The article further stated that members of the Ministry fear this might be just the beginning of a new uprising.

Sirius looked up at his father, not sure what to make of this.

"Your blood, Sirius, protects you. The name that you so willingly discard, keeps you safe."

Wanting to make sure he understood what the article implied, Sirius asked, "Why was this family killed?"

"Because they were not pure-bloods," Mrs. Black stated simply.

Sirius gazed disbelievingly at his mother – not because of what she stated – he had guessed as much from reading the article, but because of the lack of remorse for the victims. "They were wizards. They didn't deserve to be killed!"

"Please. It's hardly a loss. It really is for the betterment of wizards everywhere. The fewer impurities there are; the better off we'll be in the end."

"You can't be serious! They were people – no different than you or…" Had Sirius been standing, he would have flown backward a few feet. As it was, he had been sitting in a chair. Now he, and the chair, lay flat on their backs on the floor. Sirius scrambled to his feet, feeling stunned. As soon as he was standing, however, he was being backed into the wall behind him by the imposing, and furious, form of his mother.

"Do NOT. EVER! Compare me, or anyone else in this family, with those mudbloods. They are less than wizards. Barely better than muggles."

Everything Sirius had been pondering the day before came into crystal clear focus at that moment. He was not simply selfish and rebellious. He honestly did not believe what his parents taught him. The fear he had been feeling turned abruptly into cold fury. That his parents actually thought it was okay to kill someone because they were not pure-blood was beyond Sirius' understanding. Family-lines be damned! He'd rather have been born to a muggle than blindly hate and disregard someone else's life simply because they were deemed unworthy. His mother thought him weak, but she had unwittingly given him the strength he needed to back up his beliefs with action. The proverbial line in the sand was drawn and a new stage in the war had begun. He simply had to bide his time. At twelve years of age, he could not be self-sufficient and no one else in his family would take him in. Waiting, he could do. He had been taught well.

Sensing a shift in his son's emotions, Mr. Black broke in. "Sirius, do you have something to say?"

Sirius had started smiling and was trying not to laugh. "No sir."

"What is so funny?" Mrs. Black spoke angrily.

"You're mental, you know that?"

If Mrs. Black had been angry before, it was nothing to what she was feeling now. Her eyes actually started bulging in rage. She stepped forward and grabbed Sirius by the ear, then dragged him all the way to his room, yelling the whole way. "You impudent little child! How dare you! This is not over – not by a long-shot!" And with that she slammed the door to his room.

Sirius was surprised it ended that well, and all he could do was grin – a stupid little grin for a stupid little war over a stupid little issue that had managed to somehow ruin his life and his hope for ever being welcome at his home.

Later that night there was a knock on his bedroom door.

"Enter," Sirius replied automatically. _Old habits_. He smiled and shook his head. He wondered vaguely how thorough his parents' training really was. When he looked up, he was surprised to see Regulus walk through the door. "And here I thought life stopped when I wasn't around. You've really grown," Sirius said amicably.

Regulus nodded, but didn't return Sirius' smile. "I heard you and mum had a row again." Regulus took his place next to Sirius on his bed.

"Mm."

"Why do you fight them?" Regulus asked sincerely.

"Because they're wrong."

"How do you know?"

Sirius looked incredulously at his brother. "Because I've seen the truth. I've met muggles who were no better or worse than we are. I've met half-bloods and muggle-borns who are just as talented. Blood doesn't matter."

Regulus looked a little hurt. "Not at all?"

"Not the way Mum and Dad think it does."

Regulus was silent for a minute. "You know, they're considering disowning you. I think the only reason they haven't is because the Ministry would most likely intervene."

"Wonderful. So I stay a Black for appearances' sake."

"Why are you so against being a Black?" Regulus sounded angry, but also sad.

"I've already told you. They won't let me be a Black unless I agree with everything they say. I can't do that. So I'm better off not being a Black."

Regulus got up suddenly from the bed, "How can your family mean that little to you?"

Sirius was taken aback by the question. "You're the one who just told me that they're thinking of disowning me." He paused, thinking, then said, "But this isn't about them, is it? You know you'll always be my brother, right?"

"Even if I disagree with you? If I side with them?"

"Tell me you don't…" Sirius waved his hand, as if to erase what he started to say. "Never mind. Like I said, you'll always be my brother."

Regulus gave Sirius a quick nod and walked out of his room.

- - - - -

A/N - Thanks again for the revies and alerts. You have a happy little author here. Sorry for the delay in posting, and for the delay in responding to your wonderful reviews. Thanks also to Nonair. Thanks to my editors (mom and mei mei) and my lovely beta (J.A. Carlton).


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer - Usual. Not my characters. Everything belongs to Rowlings. Thanks for the inspiration.

Chapter 27

Christmas morning, Sirius woke up to tapping on his window. It was early, even for him; so, with a groan, he lifted his sheets, slipped his feet into his slippers, and shuffled over to the window.

"Hey Montrose," he said with a smile. "What are you doing here?" He let James' owl into his room and noticed that the bird was carrying a present and a very formal-looking letter which was addressed to his parents. Frowning slightly, he relieved the bird of its burden. "I don't have owl treats in my room, but I'll bring you something later. Okay?" The owl hooted quietly and Sirius took that to mean "yes."

He grinned as he turned over the present, shaking it slightly for some clue as to its contents. It was relatively heavy for such a small flat parcel. With a shrug, he tore off the paper and opened the box. Inside was a small, square mirror. Sirius glanced confusedly up at Montrose. "Gee thanks, James." He turned the mirror over and saw a piece of paper stuck to it. It read "James Potter." "James Potter?" Sirius wondered allowed. Immediately upon saying James' full name, the mirror glowed ever so slightly and gently shook in his hand.

Turning it over quickly, Sirius peered into the looking glass. He almost dropped it when he noticed that it was not his room being reflected in the surface, but someone else's. After a couple seconds, a very sleepy looking, but happy, James appeared.

"You got it already," James said hoarsely.

"Brilliant!" Sirius said; his eyes lit with excitement and amazement.

James chuckled quietly, "Merry Christmas, mate."

"Excellent! And Merry Christmas to you, too, mate." Feeling a little guilty, he said, "I didn't get you anything."

"No worries. Dad gave these to me last night. I thought of you and sent it off. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten anything from me, either."

"Oh. And what's with the letter?"

James grinned even more. He was waking up now. "My dad's a genius. He sent a formal invite for you to come to our house for the holidays." James had talked to his parents about the problems the boys had had with Bellatrix the year before, Sirius in particular. His parents agreed it might be best if Sirius be… removed from that environment, if possible. "He appealed to your parents' sense of Pure-blood importance and keeping up appearances."

Sirius frowned at this. He'd be surprised if anything could move his parents to think that spending time at the Potters would be a good thing. "So how's your holiday going?"

"Great! We visited some of my parents' friends last night. Today we do the present thing and spend all day, just the three of us. Mum is the best cook in the world! You have to come over, just for her cooking."

"It's not really up to me."

"It'll work. Trust me. How's your holiday going?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Ugh. It's a nightmare! Bella's over almost constantly. She and mum spend all their time talking about the wedding plans. I've learned more about weddings than I ever wanted to know, and that's with me staying in my room most of the time."

James chuckled. "Are they still trying to change your stance on pure-blood superiority."

"Always."

James noticed that Sirius hadn't mentioned his brother at all, and wondered if his parents were still keeping him from seeing Regulus. "How's your brother?"

Sirius' face darkened. "Fine."

"They still keeping you from seeing him?"

"No. Well, maybe. But I think it's as much his choice to not see me," Sirius said in a strained voice James had not heard before.

"So you haven't gotten to talk with him?"

"Oh, we already had a nice little chat last night."

"All right. Well, keep me informed. And send word back with Montrose when you have an answer from your parents."

"Will do. Oi! James," Sirius caught James' attention before he could wander away – or go back to sleep. "Did you see the paper yesterday?"

"No, why?" James was confused. Sirius had never shown particular interest in current events.

"Check it out. Front page. I'll talk to you about it later."

"Mm… Okay."

At the breakfast table, Sirius handed his mother the envelop he'd received from the Potters. "I received this by owl this morning. I think it should have come to you." He waited with baited breath as his mother read the letter. She glanced at him every so often and Sirius could tell she was debating what to do.

"I will discuss this with your father."

Sirius was stunned. Despite daring to hope, he had never expected the letter to get as far as his father. He grabbed some toast and a few other small things he thought Montrose would enjoy and excused himself from the table.

When his mother came to his room later and handed him a formal reply stating the Potters were to come and pick up Sirius, he couldn't believe his luck. Sirius quickly tied the letter to Montrose and sent him off to the Potters.

"James Potter," Sirius said into the mirror and waited.

"Sirius! Did they give you an answer?"

"Yeah. I'm actually allowed to go. Montrose is on his way with the formal reply." Sirius squinted suspiciously at James, "What kind of spell did your father put on that letter?"

James laughed, "I told you he was a genius. No spells. He's just that good. Okay, pack up. We'll be there by five."

"Oh. Missed that detail. I'd better get ready then!" Sirius said excitedly.

Sirius was just finishing packing when Regulus came to his room and stood in the doorway.

"Hey, little Leo," Sirius said when he noticed him.

Regulus frowned. Sirius must be in a good mood if he was using his old nickname. "So, I hear you're leaving."

"Yup. I'm going to the Potters."

Regulus raised an eyebrow at this. He knew how much his family hated the Potters and couldn't imagine what would make them allow Sirius to visit them.

"Is this how it's going to be at school next year?" Regulus asked. "Are you going to choose Potter over me?"

Sirius straightened suddenly, blind-sided by Regulus' question. "I… I'm not choosing Potter over you. I'm choosing freedom over this prison."

"It doesn't feel like it," Regulus said quietly before walking away.

Sirius stared after him. He really hadn't considered before how his fighting with his parents might be affecting his brother. He followed after his brother, "Regulus, wait." But just as he called, there was a knock on the door.

Regulus looked back at Sirius.

Sirius held his brother's gaze, but he was torn between running downstairs to greet the Potters and trying to talk things out. As voices drifted up from the foyer, Regulus turned and shut himself in his room. Sirius sighed, but the sound of his friend chased away any lingering guilt and he ran down the stairs.

James was beaming at him.

Mr. Potter saw Sirius and smiled. "Ah, Sirius. Good to see you."

"Thank you, sir." Sirius heard Kreacher and his mother approaching. He noticed the stern look on the woman's face.

"The Potters, mistress," Kreacher said with a deep bow.

"Thank you, Kreacher. You are dismissed." Mrs. Black never took her eyes of Mr. Potter. "Come. I wish to discuss some things with you, Mr. Potter." As Kreacher walked away, Sirius was sure he heard him mumble something about blood-traitors sullying the house.

Sirius sent a nervous glance at James. "Come to my room. You can help me…"

"No! He can wait here." Mrs. Black interrupted. She turned abruptly and headed toward Mr. Black's study.

Sirius and James sat down against the wall and waited.

"What do you reckon she wants to talk to Dad about?" James asked.

"Dunno." Sirius had a bad feeling about whatever was going on.

Five minutes later, Mr. Potter walked angrily from the direction of the study. He stopped in front of the boys, who had both jumped to their feet. "Let's go, James." Mr. Potter turned to Sirius, "I'm sorry, son. It doesn't look like you'll be coming with us this time."

Sirius had expected that, but it didn't lessen his disappointment, and he ducked his head and nodded. Mr. Potter put a comforting hand on Sirius' shoulder, which really only served to anger him further.

"What? Dad!" James started to protest, but his father shook his head.

"Not now, James," he said quietly.

"But… she…" James said haltingly, but when he glanced at his friend he fell silent. "Sorry, mate. See you at school."

Sirius nodded again, without looking at James.

James saw that Mrs. Black was standing at the far end of the room, a look of triumph on her smugly smiling face. He wanted to say something – do something – but he couldn't think of anything – nothing that wouldn't get Sirius into trouble.

James and his father left, leaving Sirius standing in the foyer, feeling very much alone. He headed toward the stairs to go to his room. As he passed his mother, she said, "Don't ever invite filth like that in this house again. It's bad enough you're surrounded by it at school. Did you honestly think we'd let you spend time away from school with that?"

"I'm sorry, mother," Sirius said venomously. "I forgot you weren't human!"

Her recent victory must have cheered her considerably because her only response was, "Don't be disrespectful, Sirius."

When Sirius reached his room, Kreacher was unpacking his belongings and putting them away.

"Get out!" Sirius yelled at the house elf. "And don't touch my stuff." Irrationally, Sirius re-packed everything. He might not be allowed to leave, but this didn't have to be his home anymore, either. And he spent the rest of the holiday living out of his suitcase.

- - - - -

A/N - Ahh. I love posting days. I receive many reasons to smile. Thanks, all, for helping to make my day with your lovely reviews. I truly appreciate them. Thanks also to my editors - Mom and mei mei - and my lovely beta - J.A.Carlton.

Nonair - Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying my version of Regulus and how the characters are developing. Thanks. :)


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer - Usual.

Chapter 28

As soon as James stepped out of the Black house with his father, he turned and asked, "What happened? Why isn't Sirius allowed to come?" In his frustration, his voice was bordering on whiney sounding.

"When we get home, James."

Fortunately, wizard travel can be almost instantaneous, so James wouldn't have to wait too long. James side-along apparated and they stepped into their own house.

Mrs. Potter came, smiling, from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a wash cloth. "Sirius! So glad… Wha? Where is he?" she asked looking around as if she expected to see him.

"He… couldn't come," Mr. Potter answered, frowning. He walked to the library and grabbed his pipe.

James stood in the doorway to the library. "Daaad!"

"James. Don't whine. I need to speak with your mother."

"But…" James huffed in frustration and walked away. He watched from the living room until his mother closed the door behind her. Then he snuck back to the library and listened at the door.

"Apparently," Mr. Potter said, "they had no intention of letting Sirius come. It was the only way they could ensure I would arrive at their house."

Mrs. Potter tsked, "Oh, that poor boy. What did they want?"

"First we… had a disagreement about making a promise and not keeping it. But, they wanted to let me know that there was no way in hell that they would willingly let their son be in the presence of blood-traitors like us. However tempting it was to have their son exposed to some of the inner workings of the ministry and have the opportunity to meet with high-ranking officials, Mrs. Black assured me that they were just as well connected and would introduce their son to the proper people when they felt he was ready."

"In other words, when they've turned him into one of them."

"Mmm. Probably. Then they threatened us. They said a war was coming and if we didn't mind our own business and let them deal with their son, we could lose more than we bargained for."

_War? What war? Does this have something to do with that article – that wizard family?_ James wondered.

"So it's true, then?" James could hear worry in his mother's voice.

After a moment's pause, Mr. Potter sighed and said, "It does appear that something is coming. I didn't want to believe Dumbledore, but he may be right. He would know. This isn't the first dark wizard he's had to face."

"Oh no. James." His mum's voice was barely audible through the door. "He'll be safe though, right? At Hogwarts?"

"Safest place there is," his father reassured his mother.

James heard footsteps and dashed away to the living room. He spent a good part of the afternoon pretending to read, though most of that time he was actually thinking. He wondered about this supposed war that was coming. He wondered whether or not he should take the Black's threat seriously. And he wondered how his friend was doing.

As the Potters sat down for supper, the mood was somber. Each one seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Even Mrs. Potter, who usually went out of her way to make sure the house stayed cheery, was quiet. At last, James couldn't take it anymore.

"Dad, Sirius told me to read the article from _The Daily Prophet_ yesterday. The one about the wizard family that was killed."

"Did he?" Mr. Potter asked.

"What's going on? Is the Ministry right? Is this just the beginning?"

Mr. Potter smiled slightly, "Why do I have a feeling you may have overheard something you shouldn't have?"

James smiled back guiltily, but then became serious again. "Sorry. But you mentioned a war…"

Mr. Potter put down his fork and knife and sat back with a sigh. "We don't really know a whole lot, James. It seems that there is a new dark wizard who is gaining a following. Same old Slytherin story. Purify the wizard bloodlines by disposing of those who are… not pure. It was hard, at first, to see his movements. There were a few muggle disappearances that did not seem related to anything in our world. Dumbledore was the first one to notice. Then a few other fringe members of the community either disappeared or died. They were killed magically, but why is still anybody's guess.

"It seems, however, that the group is growing bold and bolstering its numbers, led by a man who fancies himself a 'dark lord.' Everything is still shrouded by mystery and shadow, but it seems that every day these shadows become more solid and every day more rumors abound. This murder was the first public attack. I imagine it won't be the last. And, unfortunately, the fact that no one has been caught or questioned yet… Well, it's not a good sign."

James listened with rapt attention. He suddenly felt very sheltered and uninformed. "The article said the word 'impure' was left at the scene. Was that family killed because they weren't pure-bloods?"

Mr. and Mrs. Potter glanced at each other. "It… does appear that way. James… If Sirius told you to read the article… Does he know who's behind it?"

James hadn't even thought of that before. "No. I don't think so. I mean, his family is pretty forward with their beliefs, but he's never mentioned anything like this before. And I think he would have told me… but he did say he wanted to talk to me about it later. I'll ask, but… is he in danger? Am I putting him in danger?"

Mrs. Potter joined in the conversation. "I don't know, dear. If anything, I'd say he puts you in danger – not intentionally, of course, or through any fault of his own. But don't worry. Your father and I will do everything we can to make sure he's safe."

James needed to talk to Sirius about a lot of things. A pang of sadness hit him when he remembered they should be talking in person, but at least they had the mirrors.

Once James was settled in his room for the night, he pulled out his mirror. "Sirius Black." James smiled as he saw a hand fumble to lean the mirror against something. It was perfectly angled to see Sirius' face half squished into his pillow.

"Mmm…" was all Sirius managed to get out.

"Wake up, Sirius. We have to talk."

"'m up. 'm up."

"Sirius!"

"What?!" Sirius groaned, but rolled onto his side so he could speak without interference from his pillow. "Okay. I'm up. What's up?"

"How are you?"

"Shiny. What. Do. You. Want?" Sirius said in an annoyed tone.

"You're grumpy when you wake up. You know that?" James watched as Sirius huffed and reached out to put the mirror face down. "Wait! Okay, okay. Sorry." Sirius stopped his hand and stared at James, waiting for a good reason to have been awakened from his much more pleasant dreamland. "Listen. I read that article you told me to read. How did you know about that?"

Sirius looked confused for a minute, but then realized what James was talking about. "Oh. My parents showed it to me. They were making a point about how my being a pure-blood was protecting me or something… What do you make of it?"

"I talked with my Dad and Mum. Dad said that there's a 'Dark Lord'…"

"The same one Bella mentioned on the train last year?" Sirius interrupted. He'd propped himself up with the mention of The Dark Lord.

"Huh. I hadn't even thought of that. Man, Sirius… Okay, so Dad said that he's been gathering followers for some time now. Dumbledore was the first to recognize him as a problem. Apparently he started by attacking muggles and is now moving on to wizards. But this is the first attack that's been marked – public. Dad thinks it's just the beginning."

Sirius flopped back onto his pillow and ran his hand over his face. "Who is he, though? And who are his followers?"

"Dad… was… wondering…"

"Spit it out, James," though Sirius had a pretty good idea what was coming.

"Dad was wondering if you knew anything. If your family was involved."

Sirius thought for a moment. "I don't know. It wouldn't surprise me, but… Murder? I don't think my parents are involved. They wouldn't tell me anyway. I'm not worthy of that type of information. But… I haven't noticed Dad going to any secret meetings or anything. My family is pretty public about what they think and do."

"All right. Well… Keep safe."

"Yeah. You too."

Remus and Peter were due to arrive tomorrow. They'd be spending a few days at the Potters and James decided he'd run this by them. Maybe they would know or have heard something.

- - - - -

Remus and Peter both arrived before supper the next day. Mrs. Potter instructed James to take their things up to the guest rooms and get settled in.

"I thought Sirius was going to be here," Remus observed as he placed his things in the room he would be using.

The four boys were so often together, Remus being the only one who occasionally left the group, that each of them felt like a piece of their unit was missing in Sirius' absence.

"Yeah, well," James said with a frown. "His parents told him he could come and then decided to change their minds or something. Dad thinks they never intended to let him come in the first place."

"Ouch," Remus said sympathetically. "Why would they do that?"

James shrugged, "To tell my Dad to stay away from him."

Remus frowned and Peter looked confused. "That's… weird. So they lured your father to their house to tell him to stay away?"

James chuckled, "Looks like. It's kind of funny when you say it like that. Come on, Peter, I'll show you your room."

Peter walked through the Potter house in wide-eyed amazement. The house was larger inside than it appeared on the outside. While every decoration and piece of furniture spoke of wealth, it was not the aristocratic, flaunting kind of display – simply good taste. The house was warm and welcoming, though impeccably neat and clean. It reminded Peter vaguely of Hogwarts in that he imagined there were more rooms to the floor plan than seemed logically possible. It was definitely a wizard's home.

Remus, too, was apparently impressed with the size, since he whispered to Peter, "I think I'm going to get lost trying to find my way to the bathroom." Peter chuckled.

Supper was pleasant enough. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were as warm and amicable as their home implied. They asked the boys about Hogwarts and their classes, what they liked most, and then about their families.

After supper, James' parents retired to their study and left the boys to their own devices. James led them to his room. Once there, he pulled the mirror out of one of his pockets and said, "Sirius Black."

Remus took a seat next to James on his bed and watched the mirror, curious to see what would happen. Peter was investigating James' possessions, but cast an inquisitive glance at James when he spoke Sirius' name.

"James!" Peter heard Sirius' voice and he hurried over to sit on the other side of James. He was shocked to see Sirius' face looking through the glass. "Hey, you caught me when I'm awake. Good thing, too. I think I was about to fall into a boredom-coma."

James smiled. "Hey. Gang's all here." He tilted the mirror toward Remus and then Peter, who both waved and smiled at Sirius.

"Excellent!" Sirius said with a smile, though James thought he looked either tired or strained; he couldn't tell which.

"I was just getting ready to tell the guys about the article in the _Prophet_ and what my Dad said, and get their take on it."

James watched as Sirius glanced over his shoulder, and then he held up a finger and stepped out of view. When he came back he nodded, "Okay, go ahead."

James thought this odd, but he went on as planned. He set the mirror down a couple feet away from them so that Sirius could get a wider view of the room and the three boys in it. That way, James wouldn't have to keep tilting the mirror, depending on who was speaking.

Peter and Remus listened intently to what was being said by James, interrupting only to ask clarifying questions.

When James was done, Sirius picked up the story. "Okay, so listen to this. Bella was over _again_ today…" Sirius made a face at this.

"Why is she always coming over? I mean, I know it's for the wedding, but why is your mum so involved?" James asked.

"Their mum died a few years back, so my mum is kind of… stepping in to fill the position. She and Bella are… scary alike anyway. Creeps me out. But, as I was saying, I… decided to prod a little. I said to Bella, 'You're in a good mood. Kill anyone lately?' Get this – she smiled and said, 'If you only knew.'" Sirius raised his eyebrow meaningfully at this. "I knew she was crazy, but I didn't think she could actually… possibly… be involved in something like that."

"Did you ask her anything else?" James asked.

"No! Are you insane? Even I can hold my tongue when I have to."

"Riiight," Remus said with a smirk.

"Git," Sirius said in mock anger.

"Dolt," Remus retorted and both chuckled.

"What about you two," James asked, directing his question at Remus and Peter. "Have either of you heard anything?"

Remus shook his head. "Nope. Our family is pretty… um… we don't have a lot of contact with other wizards."

"M-my mum's Ladies Tea friends talk sometimes. They said they've heard the name…" Peter glanced around the room nervously as if he expected someone to jump out of the shadows. He whispered, "Lord Voldemort."

"Voldemort?" James asked. His regular tone of voice, in direct contrast with Peter's whisper, made the boy jump. James snorted. Shaking his head, he said, "I haven't heard that name. How about you, Sirius?"

"Mmm… Nope. Not that I recall. Lord, huh? It's got to be a sobriquet."

Remus snickered and tried to hide it by coughing, while Peter said, "A what?"

Sirius smiled. "Hey… I've got nothing better to do than go through the dictionary… I'm tellin' ya… boredom- coma. A pseudonym, Peter."

"Okay, tell me I wasn't the only one who didn't know that," Peter said.

James smirked and clapped Peter's back. "I didn't either."

"My point is," Sirius interrupted, "I would have heard of him – a pure-blood powerful enough to rally followers."

"I'll ask Dad if he knows the name. Why are you hiding in your room, Sirius?"

"Aside from the fact that I don't want to see anyone?" Sirius asked bitterly. He cleared his throat looking a little embarrassed, "Bella threatened to use me as a model… for the bridesmaids gowns... again." As expected, everyone, except Sirius, burst into gales of laughter. "Yuck it up, but I look quite stunning in green and silver, thank you very much," he said, with a casual half-smile on his face.

Once the laughter died down, the boys said good-night to Sirius and got ready for bed themselves.

As it turned out, either Mr. Potter had not heard the name "Lord Voldemort" or he was unwilling to tell James any more than he had already told him. James suspected the latter, but didn't push the matter.

The rest of the holiday went quickly, at least for Remus, Peter and James. They spent their days as boys do, wandering, playing, joking, and debating who was cooler and who would win in a duel – Gryffindor or Merlin. James introduced his friends to some of the kids in the neighborhood. Every night before they went to bed they contacted Sirius, who was more grateful than he'd admit.

While the argument with his parents had helped strengthen his resolve and cleared up his understanding of who he was and what he believed, it had also left him feeling like more of an outsider in his own family than ever before. The fact that Regulus seemed to be siding with his parents only intensified those feelings, and he couldn't have been happier than when he was back on the train – going home to Hogwarts.

- - - - -

A/N - Thanks again for the reviews and comments and alerts. I appreciate them all. Thank you, also, to my editors mom and mei mei and by beta J.A.Carlton. I don't have anything to original to say here, but, truly, thank you all for your ever so kind support. You keep this little author smiling and writing. Thanks.

Nonair-Thanks again for another lovely review. I'm glad you're enjoying my Mrs. Black. I was hoping to be able to show her slow evolution from obsessed-mother to crazy, shouting lunatic on a wall. I'm also glad to hear you're enjoying the exchanges between James and Sirius. Thanks again.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer - Usual.

Chapter 29

For the first week or so back at school, there was a lot of buzz about the wizard family that had been killed. A lot of rumors were going around about who all was involved and whether it was part of some larger conspiracy or not. But, as tends to happen in a sheltered and secluded school, the rumors faded and life returned to normal. Talk of dark wizards and conspiracies was replaced with discussions about Quidditch teams, professors, classes and who was caught kissing whom in the broom cupboard.

The boys' exploration of the castle continued, when possible, with spells they had found earlier coming in handy. They had found several secret passages ensuring they would almost never be late to class again. The map was coming along nicely and some of the guess-work had been taken out of drawing it with a convenient little spell Remus discovered. It sent out a tracer line from the end of the caster's wand and traveled in a certain direction. As the tracer traveled, a corresponding line was drawn on a predetermined piece of parchment. This made the mapmaking process much easier and more accurate, as they no longer had to guestimate distances. Peter had been most helpful by discovering the patrol routes and schedules of the teachers and prefects, making getting caught a lot less likely. Filch and Mrs. Norris tended to be the only wildcards, popping up unexpectedly and most inconveniently.

Pranking as a favorite pastime had not died down with the boys. One day, the boys had snuck into the transfiguration classroom and put a spell on the chalkboards so that every time Professor McGonagall tried to write on one of the boards, it broke out into fits of giggling. Trying rather unsuccessfully to maintain her stern demeanor, she quipped, "I'm glad someone is learning from my class. However, if you wish to continue doing so, I suggest that whoever did this undo it before my afternoon class."

The Marauders continued to prank various students, either for fun or because the boys were in some way annoyed by whomever. But Sirius and James seemed to feel personally affronted by the news of dark wizards at work, so they vented their disgust on the Slytherins in general and Snape in particular. Peter went along with the more vindictive pranks, not wanting to lose face, but also because he enjoyed being on the giving end. Remus, while he didn't stop his friends, didn't actively participate, though he held onto enough guilt for all of them.

"Relax, Remus," Sirius tried to placate him one evening while they were sitting in the common room. "It's not as if they don't deserve it. Snivellus, aside from being an annoying git who tries his hardest to tattle on us, isn't exactly innocent. Did you see the hex he used on Peter? I've never even seen that before."

"Well Peter wasn't exactly an innocent by-stander either, was he?" Remus countered.

"Mark my words, if anyone becomes a dark wizard, it will be him." Sirius emphasized by wagging with his index finger.

"So you're punishing him for things he hasn't done yet?" Remus asked in frustration.

"We're just adding to his dark and misunderstood past, so one day when someone writes a book about him, people will feel all sympathetic and compassionate," Sirius chuckled.

"Who would ever want to read a book about Snivellus?" James pondered in disgust.

"You're disturbed, Sirius," Remus asserted.

"And you're a prude."

"Dolt."

"Git."

Remus and Sirius stared at each other for a few seconds before Sirius broke into a predatory grin and dove over the table, taking out Remus and the chair, as well as knocking a few quills, scrolls and an ink bottle onto the floor. They wrestled for a minute before Ward came over.

"Oi. What do you two think you're doing?"

Remus and Sirius both jumped to their feet, breathing heavily. "We were just… um… Spider! Huge." Sirius gestured with his hands, indicating something roughly the size of a quaffle. "Heading straight for Remus. So I had to knock him out of the way. Saved his life, I did," Sirius grinned proudly.

"Spider. It looked a lot like wrestling to me."

"Well, that's not allowed in school. I would think you would know that, being a prefect and all," Remus added, with a grin of his own.

Ward narrowed his eyes. "And after you knocked him out of the way of the spider?"

Remus continued the story. "Sirius is… a tad clumsy. You know… growing into those gangly arms and legs. I was trying to keep him from hurting himself… or me… in his attempts to get back up."

Sirius, still smirking, punched Remus in the arm. "That's right. Such a good git… I mean friend," he corrected quickly.

"You don't really expect me to believe that story?" Ward asked. He looked at James and Peter for support, but James just nodded heartily and made hand motions similar to Sirius', indicating the size of the imaginary spider. Peter looked terrified, but it was impossible to tell if it was the terror of seeing a giant spider or the threat that he could possibly get into big trouble for lying to a prefect. Ward threw up his arms in defeat and shook his head. "Whatever. Just keep the ruckus down. Other students are trying to study."

As Ward walked away, Remus whispered, "Ow!" and rubbed his shoulder. "Now, he's a prude." James and Peter burst out laughing.

Gryffindor had easily defeated Ravenclaw in their last Quidditch match, but the real challenge was coming up. Hufflepuff had won the tournament last year and their team was largely the same. Only their seeker was new. Moira Daly was a small fifth-year with a keen eye and patience that rivaled Remus'. Her small frame made her light on her broom and she was an excellent flier, with great control and accuracy. Hufflepuff was the team to beat again this year. Slytherin was close to Gryffindor in points, so Gryffindor had to ensure that this was a high scoring game. That way, even if they lost, if they had enough points, they would still be able to play in the cup.

As the match approached, the team became increasingly tense. Weatherton, James and a few other players from Gryffindor sat in on a Hufflepuff practice in an attempt to learn the players' strengths, weaknesses, and strategies.

"See how Daly flies in lazy figure-eights. She constantly centers herself to keep maximum lookout," Weatherton pointed out.

"They have an excellent passing team," Longbottom stated, watching the graceful way the quaffle was passed from chaser to chaser while doing an intricate dance with the beaters who guarded them.

"Yes, but game situation is always different," Audrey Turner, one of the Gryffindor beaters, added.

James watched it all, playing close attention to how the team flew and interacted. Most of the Hufflepuff team had been together for four years. That was highly unusual, but it obviously paid off, as they communicated with subtle hand gestures and were comfortable and familiar with the way they each moved. James figured their biggest weakness was the new seeker. She was the least experienced, both in playing and in being a unit with the team. If she could be kept distracted and off guard, Gryffindor would have a chance at winning. James pointed this out to Weatherton on the way back to the common room.

"Hmm…" Weatherton contemplated what James said. Then he smiled in appreciation. "Well done. I'll think on that."

The day of the game, James was more nervous than usual, evidenced by the fact that he stared at his breakfast plate and didn't eat. His stomach felt like it was already flying, but not at all gracefully – rather in lurching loopty-loops and sudden free-falls. The other Marauders tried to cheer him up, or at least relax him a little, but he barely heard what they were saying. After an agonizingly slow twenty minutes, Weatherton finally came and tapped James on the shoulder, telling him it was time to get ready.

"If he's like this now, what's he going to be like before the cup?" Remus asked quietly.

"I don't know, but he's got to learn to relax," Sirius said concernedly.

Shortly thereafter, the remaining Marauders left for the pitch. It seemed that most of Gryffindor was aware of the importance of this match. There was a tense excitement draped over the house.

Miles Swiftly, the flight instructor and Quidditch referee, released the Quaffle and started the game. It was exciting, though low scoring. The Hufflepuff defense was tough, and their keeper very alert. This was a problem for Gryffindor as, if they lost, they wouldn't have enough total points to knock Slytherin out of the final game. This added pressure to the Gryffindor Seeker. Fortunately for Gryffindor, their keeper was also at the top of his game and Hufflepuff would have to catch the snitch to win as well. Weatherton had, in fact, taken James' words to heart and he ordered the beaters to keep an extra-close eye on Daly and occasionally fly through her path to veer her off course, thus keeping her distracted.

An hour into the game, the score was Hufflepuff: 30; Gryffindor: 40. It was the first time Gryffindor had managed to gain the lead the whole game. James had the quaffle and was heading toward the Hufflepuff goals when he noticed Daly dive.

"Frank!" he called out as loudly as he could. Frank looked over at him. James nodded and hoped he understood to get ready for a pass. He noticed the Gryffindor beaters were both nearby. "Guard Frank! Guard Frank!" he yelled as he tossed the ball to his teammate. Without waiting to see if Longbottom had caught the ball, James dove to intercept Daly. His intention was not to catch the snitch, but rather get in her way and force her off course. He hoped it would be enough of a distraction to cause her to lose the snitch, if not alert his own seeker to its position. There was a moment's hesitation on the part of the Hufflepuffs as they watched a chaser dive after their seeker. As Longbottom barreled across the playing field, guarded by his beaters, the Hufflepuffs re-focused their attention on Frank, to keep him from scoring.

Daly, in the meantime, was so focused on the snitch that she didn't see James in time to swerve out of his way. She nearly lost her grip on her broom, but as James flew skillfully passed her, he tugged on her cloak to enable her to regain her balance. Her lack of attention caused her to lose sight of the snitch. She did a low sweep of the pitch and was just heading back to hovering height when she saw Jules, the Gryffindor seeker, fly hard and fast in the direction of his own goal and knew she would never make it on time.

Gryffindor won the game and the Gryffindor section of the stands exploded with shouts, applause, and fireworks, right before they rushed the field to congratulate their team.

As the two teams dismounted and shook hands, Daly shook James' hand and leaned in to talk to him, ensuring he could hear her. "You fly well. And thanks for the hand."

James nodded and grinned shyly back at her. Just then Sirius came up behind James and jumped on his back, whooping and cheering. James stumbled from the unexpected collision, but Sirius, whose feet were now firmly on the ground, placed a hand on James' shoulder to steady him.

"Way to go, mate! Excellent flying!" Sirius was shouting due to the noise of the jubilant crowd around them.

"Sirius. Moira Daly, the Hufflepuff seeker," James introduced them. "Moira, Sirius…"

"Black. I know." But there was no hint of condemnation in her voice or her eyes. Instead she shook Sirius' hand, too. Turning back to James she said, "I look forward to the rematch." She winked at Sirius and then allowed herself to be swallowed in the crowd.

"James! You were wonderful." A group of first-years came up to James, giggling behind their hands.

"Uh, thanks," James said, a little flustered by the sudden attention.

Sirius laughed and started dragging his friend away. "Come on. I think Weatherton wants to meet with the team before we party."

As they turned away, one of the girls said in a rather wispy voice, "I love your hair, James."

James blushed, looking a bit starry-eyed, and allowed himself to be ushered to the rest of the team.

Sirius rolled his eyes and leaned close to Remus, "We'll never hear the end of this one."

The victory party lasted so long and was so loud that, at midnight, Professor McGonagall entered the common room. "I think we have celebrated long enough for one night. Off to bed. Now!"

Ward took this as his cue to close down the party and usher everyone to bed.

As the boys lay in their beds, all lights out, Remus, doing his best impression of a first year girl, said, "I love your hair, James." Peter and Sirius started snickering and James flung his pillow at Remus.

"Damn!" James mumbled to himself. "Now I don't have a pillow."

- - - - -

A/N - Ah, another lovely morning. Fall weather seems to be starting and the blazing heat of summer is ending. Yea! I love this time of year. Anyway. Thank you all for continuing to stick with this story and continuing to share your thoughts about it. I love the feedback. :) Thanks.

And, of course, thank you to my ever faithful editors and beta - Mom, mei mei, and J.A.Carlton.

Nonair- I'm glad you like the Potters. I figure that, with how normal and a little cocky James is, he probably had a very loving, stable homelife. As for Voldemort, I figure he is building power in the background, but they're still kids, so he's going to remain pretty much in the background.

Anyone have any ideas of events that happened in the first war? Or good resources for it? I'll gladly take them. I'm starting on "Book Three" soon and there is so little info on the first war, any help I can get would be awesome. In the immortal words of Inigo Montoya, "I have no gift for strategy." (The Princess Bride) - Isn't that nice of me? Asking ya'll to work? Hee hee.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 30

It was close to Easter and all of the second-years had to decide what classes they were going to add to their schedule the next year.

Peter kept reading and re-reading the course descriptions. "I just don't know what to take. What are you guys taking?"

"I'm adding Ancient Runes and Arithmancy," Remus stated confidently. "I want to travel. Maybe be a curse breaker for Gringotts." As an afterthought, he mumbled, "Provided I can even get a job…"

"I don't know what I want to be," James said. He'd never really thought about it. His parents had been saving money for him since before he was born, he really hadn't planned on getting a full time job right away. He wanted to travel some – see the world. "Maybe play Quidditch…"

"Well," Peter said morosely, "That's not really an option for me. But what classes are you taking?"

"I dunno. Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies, maybe. Maybe Arithmancy. What are you taking, Sirius?" When Sirius didn't answer, James called, louder this time, "Sirius!"

"Huh? Oh, uh… Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures," he answered distractedly. James watched him suspiciously as he wrote on a scroll.

"What do you want to do, Peter," Remus inquired. "That might help you decide what to pick."

"I always imagined I'd get a job in the Ministry somewhere."

"Well, you might want to take Muggle Studies, then. What else are you interested in?"

"Arithmancy?" It sounded more like a question than something he was absolutely interested in. Peter really figured he had the best chance of passing class if he was in it with Remus. And, truth be told, he'd rather share a class with James than Sirius. Sirius got frustrated with him more easily than the others and it made him feel stupid.

Remus spocked an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" James couldn't contain his curiosity any more. James moved so he could see the scroll Sirius was working on, but the other boy let out a low growl and shifted to hide what he was doing.

This caught Remus' and Peter's attention as well, and the three sat staring at Sirius. They watched as he stuck his tongue out in concentration, pausing every so often, and then writing again.

Sighing frustratedly, Sirius looked up. He seemed to notice for the first time that his friends were watching him intently. "Okay, so I have an idea, but I need suggestions."

James hesitantly asked, "What is it?"

Sirius sat up straighter and got the excited puppy-dog look that he got when planning something. "A scavenger hunt!"

"Huh," Remus said thoughtfully. In fact, this was rather tame compared to Sirius' usual plots. "That's not a bad idea. What do you have on the list?"

"Well, that's where I need suggestions. I could only come up with five good things."

"Why don't we ask for suggestions? Put out a box or something and have people enter suggestions of things to find."

Sirius grinned broadly. "And that's why I love you, Moony."

Remus glanced around nervously. "What?"

Sirius was concentrating on his scroll again, "Moony… you know, moon boy… moony."

"Shut up!" Remus hissed.

"What?" Sirius looked up at his friend, not understanding why he was so upset. "Oh relax. It's not like anybody's going to know what it means."

"You don't know that."

"Mmm… I have an idea," Sirius said, his Cheshire-cat smile returning.

James glanced at Remus. One never could tell what Sirius was going to do when that look crossed his face.

Sirius stood up and called out, "Attention everyone. Attention!"

_He's not actually going to tell people?_ Remus was near panic.

"My good friend, Remus, here, has put forth a challenge. I have agreed to said challenge."

"What?" Peter whispered. He felt like he missed something again but, looking at James and Remus, he realized they were just as lost as he.

Sirius, having the full attention of the common room, turned his back to everyone, fiddled with something nobody could see and then… dropped trow – fully mooning everyone in the common room.

Chaos ensued. Girls squealed and/or screamed. Guys burst out laughing and applauding. Remus was hiding behind his hands; James was laughing hysterically; and Peter was sitting with his mouth hanging open in shock. Ward, the ever- faithful prudish prefect, stormed over to where Sirius now stood, pants back in their proper place.

Ward was so flabbergasted that he could barely speak. "You… I… Detention! And I will be taking this up with Professor McGonagall!"

Sirius nodded, trying his best to look abashed. Once Ward walked through the portrait hole to find McGonagall, Sirius broke into a grin.

Remus looked up at him, smiling. He tilted his head to the side and gave a half-nod, "Moony it is."

The next morning, as the Marauders walked to their table for breakfast, scattered whispering broke out throughout the hall. While Sirius didn't acknowledge it in word, he did seem to carry himself a little taller than usual.

As they were eating, Daly and a few of her Hufflepuff friends walked by Sirius and James, waving and giggling as they went.

They smiled back appreciatively, and that's when James heard the "tut" from a little farther down the Gryffindor table. He searched the table and saw that Lily was shaking her head in disgust. She was leaning in and whispering to her friends.

"What's the matter, Evans? Rough morning?" James goaded.

"Not as difficult as your mornings must be," she replied coolly.

"My mornings are just fine. Why would you think they're difficult?"

"I just think it would be hard to lift that head of yours off your pillow," she smirked at her own cleverness. Her friends watched the exchange in disbelief.

James chuckled, tingeing it with mock hurt. "You wound me so. I think you're just jealous of competition."

"Competition? I'm in a competition? What do I win?"

"Me, of course."

"Oh. Well that's disappointing. I was hoping for… I don't know… something useful, like a quill… or even something nice, like a flower."

"Ah, but I'm much more useful than a quill, and why give you a flower when your beauty would only put it to shame."

Lily stared at James a moment before bursting out laughing. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said wiping away a tear. "Did you actually think that would work?" She continued giggling as she gathered her books and prepared to leave the table. Her friends followed suit. She sighed and paused next to James on her way out. "You know, you boys might be right. Watching someone make a fool of himself can be funny."

Without looking up from his food, Sirius interjected, "Yes, that's why we find you so funny." His tone was cool, lacking the warmth of a playful barb. Sirius usually enjoyed watching James and Lily spar. He even enjoyed watching her take him down a peg or two every so often. But he felt slighted, on behalf of his friend, by her last comment. Perhaps it was the protectiveness of being an older brother, but he felt compelled not to let it slide.

Lily faltered, sensing the change in mood, and wondering if she had gone too far by insinuating that James was a fool. She glanced at James, who was pink in the face. She didn't know if it was from what she said or what Sirius said. Unsure what to do, she hooked her arm through Gillette's and walked away.

The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence. James had not been that bothered by what Lily said and he was surprised by Sirius' reaction. But he was also flattered that Sirius had come to his defense.

Later that evening, as the boys were in the common room once again, Sirius stood on a table to make another announcement. A few of the students snickered and the girls started giggling.

Sirius held up his hands. "No worries, everyone, this is not that kind of announcement. The Marauders are going to hold a scavenger hunt, but we would like suggestions from our fellow Gryffindors for things to hunt. We are setting this lovely box," – here Sirius turned and allowed Remus to model the box for the students; it was a rather gaudy-looking thing, covered in glitter and paint to make it vaguely resemble gold and jewels; and continued, "in the corner by the notice board. Any and all suggestions are welcome. We will choose our favorite fifteen items in two weeks' time. Thank you, and good night." Sirius bowed deeply and hopped off the table.

"I can't wait to see what we get," James smiled slyly, trying to imagine some of the creative suggestions they would receive.

Two weeks later, Sirius gathered the "bloody annoying" box of suggestions. Ward had dubbed it that since the boys had enchanted the box to "cha-ching" every time a suggestion was dropped into it. It only took him one night of hearing the intermittent "cha-chinging" before he came over and demanded the boys silence the box or he would blast it, suggestions and all (according to Sirius' version of the story), or call in Professor McGonagall, because they were disrupting the studying of the students in the common room (according to Remus). Sirius divvied up the scraps of scrolls amongst the friends, and the Marauders went through the suggestions to determine which items would make the cut.

"You know, we're going to have to come up with a prize, too." Remus tossed out the statement.

"An apple? What kind of scavenger hunt item is 'an apple'?" Sirius said in disgust. "And I don't need a prize. Winning will be enough of a prize for me," Sirius smiled cockily.

"I think we should do two prizes," Peter suggested. "One for the most items and one for the most-difficult-to-obtain item."

"I like that idea," James agreed. "Though, that still leaves us with the problem of coming up with suitable prizes. And how are we going to create the teams?"

"Teams?" Sirius asked.

"Well, we can't exactly have twenty people, or more, stealing… 'a trophy from the trophy case.'" James read off one of the suggestions.

"Good point. Well, how about each of us lead a team?" Sirius proposed.

James chuckled. "Sounds good to me."

"Now," Sirius waved his pile of suggestions in the air, "we still need to come up with the items for the list. 'Owl feathers'?"

"We need an easy item for the list… besides, have you tried to pluck a feather from an owl?" James asked.

"Why would you need to pluck a feather? Go to the Owlry. I'm sure they molt."

"Well, for one, the owl feathers on the floor are covered in poop, and we could always stipulate that it has to be plucked or a tail feather or something," James defended.

"Yeah, okay. Ever heard of _scourgify_?"

"Fine. Pick something else."

"How about something a little harder, like… Oh… How about toilet paper? Or ... or handkerchiefs," Sirius laughed at his friend's expense.

"Or grass," Remus muttered, while looking over his stack of items, making Sirius laugh even harder.

"Thanks a lot Remus! Betrayer," James huffed.

Remus looked up as if he hadn't realized he had spoken out loud. "I meant that really thick… rare grass… you know… That you can only find…" Remus was shut up by the sofa cushion James threw at him, but it didn't stop him from chuckling.

The final scavenger list comprised of each team having: a freshly plucked feather from an owl (more to irritate James than because it was difficult to obtain), a crystal ball from the Divinations classroom, a runed item from the Ancient Runes classroom, a telescope from the Astronomy tower, a niffler (as that was the current animal being studied by the Care of Magical Creatures class), a hedgehog from Transfiguration, one of Slughorne's crystal vials, a bouncing bulb from Herbology, a toaster from Muggle Studies, a cursed hat from DADA, a pillow from Charms, a student robe from each house, chains from Mr. Filches wall (they were going to steal some of Mrs. Norris' cat food, but no one knew for sure if she ate cat food or not), a trophy from the trophy case, and the golden snitch. Sirius thought James had a distinct advantage for the last item, but he allowed it on the list anyway. He was just going to make sure Weatherton was not on James' team.

As it turned out, the entire house did not actively participate in the scavenger hunt. Several of the students were either too scared to steal all of those items, or simply didn't care to. Most of the fifth- and seventh-year students were so stressed about the end-of-term OWLs and NEWTs that they didn't want to take time away from studying. Of the seventy Gryffindors, only about twenty participated, including the Marauders. The boys were surprised when Addison joined in the hunt, as well as Lily, who were both on Remus' team. Longbottom joined his fellow teammate, but Alice, Longbottom's girlfriend, was on Sirius' team. Gillette was, begrudgingly, with Peter.

They planned the hunt for a Saturday, when they naturally had the most free time. A good portion of the school knew something was going on when the infamous Marauders did not sit with each other at breakfast. Instead, they sat with their teams to discuss strategy and who would be going to get what items. Each team also had to find its own secret cache until scoring time.

While Sirius was eating with his group, he noticed Daly and her friends get up to leave the Great Hall. "Excuse me," he said to his team, "I'm going to get our first item."

Curious, the rest of his team dropped their food and followed after him.

He followed Daly out of the hall and, before she left the entrance hall for the corridor that would take her to the Hufflepuff common room, Sirius called to her. "Daly!"

She turned to Sirius and smiled. "Moira."

Sirius nodded and donned his most charming smile. "Moira. We," he turned and motioned to his fellow Gryffindors, "are participating in a scavenger hunt. We… require… a robe from a Hufflepuff student…"

"And you would like to borrow mine." Moira was still smiling, but the friendly smile of before was replaced with something else – something that made Sirius' stomach flutter, and he hesitated for just a moment.

"Yes, if you would be so kind."

The fifth-year seeker spread her arms out to her sides. "Take it."

Sirius flushed and repeated, "Take it?"

"Mm-hmm," she nodded, not taking her eyes off of him.

Sirius glanced behind him. His fellow Gryffindors were watching in rapt attention to see what he would do. Nodding once and summoning his courage, he whispered, "Right." Sirius, who was slightly taller than Moira despite their age difference, walked up to her and stood within six centimeters of the girl, also never breaking eye contact. He gently grabbed her robe at the sides of her waste and started pulling it up. Once it got high enough, she lifted her arms so he could pull the robe over her head. With one arm, he finished removing her robe, the other arm he wrapped around her waste so both would remain balanced. It was her turn to blush. Once she was free of her robe, Sirius took a step back, took her hand in his and kissed it. "Thank you." Though his insides trembled and he felt that oxygen was suddenly a precious commodity, he turned from Moira and, waving the robe over his head to the cheers of his teammates, he walked proudly away.

Sirius handed the robe to Alice who folded it and put it in her bag. The group went back into the Great Hall to finish their breakfast. They were still cheering and clapping Sirius on the back when they sat down. Alice leaned over to Sirius and said, "You keep that up, we'll have all the robes for sure."

"Nu-uh. I'm not doing that again if I can help it." He was blushing again and, now that the adrenaline had worn off, his hand shook as he reached for his juice.

Alice laughed, giving him a knowing look. "Don't worry, I have a friend in Ravenclaw. I'm sure she'll help us without… making a scene."

James, who had observed the return of his friend, asked casually, "What are you all so happy about?"

"We got our first item," Sirius replied, looking smug. Turning back to Alice, he said, "It's the Slytherin robe that's going to be tricky." The rest of the team nodded in agreement.

James was competitive by nature and the news that they were already behind frustrated him. "Come on, team. Let's get crackin'." His group left their breakfasts behind. Their leaving caused an exodus of the other teams as well.

Members of James' team also knew people in the other houses, but like most Gryffindors, none of them were friends with Slytherins. While two of his teammates were niccing the pillows and a plucked owl feather, James and Frank waited outside for some unsuspecting Slytherins to arrive. Much to James' delight, Snape was walking across the lawns with Avery. They approached the two boys from one side, while Sirius and Johnson, one of his teammates, approached from the other direction.

When they were close enough, Sirius called to James, "Oi, James. What do you reckon? Two of them… One for each of us." James nodded in agreement.

Avery looked nervously at the two pairs of students approaching, while Snape pulled out his wand. "What do you want?" he snarled.

Sirius grinned maliciously. "Your robes."

"What?!" Snape exclaimed in surprise.

"We're doing a Scavenger hunt and we need Slytherin robes."

"Just try it," Snape challenged.

"_Accio_ robes," Sirius and James said at the same time. Avery and Snape's robes whooshed off their bodies and landed at the Gryffindors' feet, leaving the two Slytherins standing in their underclothes.

"Thanks," James saluted with his wand.

Snape hurled a curse at James, who was just quick enough to dodge it. Sirius yelled, "_Expelliarmus_!" and Snape's wand flew from his hand.

Frank tugged on James' sleeve. "Come on. We got what we came for. Let's go before a professor comes."

"What do you think we should do with him?" Sirius asked James.

James put both Snape and Avery in a full body bind before walking away.

Sirius smiled and waved. "Later then, Snivellus."

By the time lunchtime came around, the school was buzzing with the knowledge that the Gryffindors were doing the scavenger hunt. Some students from the other houses tried to help out, acting as lookouts or distracting the professors. Some were taking bets on which team would win. And some Slytherins were doing their best to frustrate their efforts – mostly by tattling. This, obviously, alerted the teachers to what was going on, which made sneaking about the castle more difficult and fun.

Extra security measures were put on the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Not knowing what was on the list, but hearing about the other items that were disappearing around the school, the professor didn't want to take any chances that the students would try to nic anything from her room and come across the dangerous hats. As it turned out, none of the teams were able to get past the security on the room, so all of the teams failed to acquire that item.

Peter's team hadn't found a way around extra security measures. They couldn't get close enough to Filch's office either, to nic any of the chains hanging, well polished, from the wall. They had trouble getting the telescope, too. Gryffindors are known for their bravery, not their brains, and once they finally freed the troublesome telescope from its attachment on the tower, it took two of them to carry it. Unfortunately, this was very awkward and rather conspicuous and they had to abandon the telescope at the bottom of the tower or risk getting caught by a patrolling prefect.

Peter did have a plan for the school robes, however. When Gillette asked him how they were going to get the house robes, he replied, "That's easy. I know where laundry is done. We can nic the robes from there." Also, his memory for the layout of the castle made sneaking around quite a bit easier. He knew all of the secret passages to use to avoid the wandering teachers.

Remus' team was only able to get three of the robes they needed; no one knew anyone in Slytherin well enough to ask for a robe and he couldn't remember how to get to the laundry room. He showed his team how to shrink items for safekeeping. Not only would the items be hidden, but it removed the need to find a secret cache in which to store their precious booty. They had much more success acquiring their telescope than Peter's team. Once they got it unscrewed from the tower, Lily shrunk it and carried it in her pocket. The tricky items, because of not having the secret cache, were the niffler and the hedgehog. Addison proved to be fairly competent at Transfiguration, so when Remus showed him how to transfigure the niffler into a pin cushion, he did the same thing to the hedgehog.

With some careful timing, and the help of a few first-years acting as lookouts and distractions for Mrs. Norris, Remus was able to break into Filch's office and snag one set of chains. He gave an involuntary shudder as he shrunk them and put them in his pocket. Lily looked at him oddly, but said nothing.

Time was running out and James' team had one more item to get – the Golden Snitch. He would have gotten it earlier, but nobody on the team wanted to risk losing such a precious item. It was not difficult for him, since he was on the Quidditch team, to go to the locker rooms, sneak into the supply closet and pull out the trunk with the balls. He carefully opened the trunk, but to his surprise, the snitch was already gone.

He returned to the room where they had gathered their stash and his jaw hit the floor. Everything was gone.

Frank stood next to him, "What the bloody…?"

"Sirius," he growled. "Fine, if he wants to play dirty… _Accio_ crystal ball." In less than a second, James felt like he had been punched in the gut and he heard something heavy, like a bowling ball, clunk to the floor. "What the…?" He glanced at Frank.

Frank bent down and began to feel around. After a moment he placed his hands around something and lifted. Pulling out his wand he said, "_Finite Incantatem_" and their crystal ball appeared.

"Bugger," James mutter, then started smirking. "Find the stash. It's gotta still be here. Git!"

"Excuse me?" Frank said, thinking James was referring to him.

"Oh, not you, Frank. Sorry," he said as he continued to search the room. "I was talking about Sirius. This had to be his doing."

Sure enough all of the items were still in the room where they had been originally placed, but a spell had been cast on them to make them invisible.

"Excellent! Let's go," James commanded.

- - - - -

A/N - Thank you to those who let me know that something was amiss when I loaded this chapter. Stupid Word - giving me fits. Anway. Thank you much. Hopefully, I got it corrected. Ha. Teach me not preview my chapter.

(Original) A/N - Sorry about the odd break here, but this chapter was getting long and the next is already quite long - didn't want to mash the two together. Anyway, thanks once again for the lovely reviews. And thank you for the suggestions for places to look for information on the first war (shout out to SWaddict1986, there). Thank you also to my editors and beta - Mom, mei mei and J.A.Carlton. Wonderful.

Nonair - Thanks again for the very kind words. And for the suggestion of the Lexicon. Actually, that's where most of my info comes from. And I've discovered I've still got some of it wrong because I didn't think to varify there first.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer - usual.

Chapter 31

Everyone agreed to meet at eight o'clock in one of the classrooms in which the Marauders practiced magic. The four captains arrived, James and Remus with their teams, and moved the tables and chairs out of the way. Slowly, the others trickled in, bringing various and sometimes disguised items with them.

"Well, looks like everyone got their feather," Sirius said in a very serious tone.

"Yes. Tricky one that was," Remus responded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Shuddup." James' highly intelligent come-back caused the other three Marauders to snicker.

Once everyone had all their items laid out, a quick survey was taken. Remus' team was missing the Slytherin robes. Peter's team was missing a telescope, and chains from Filch. Sirius and James both had all of the items (minus the hats of course).

James scanned the room. Looking at Sirius he said, "All right then, show it to me."

"Show you what?" Sirius asked.

"Come on. The snitch is the only thing that's left."

"I haven't got it." James looked suspiciously at Sirius. There would be no reason for him to hide it. In fact it was the only way to win.

There was a giggle, and someone cleared his throat. James and Sirius both looked around and saw Gillette giggling and Peter beaming. Slowly, he lifted his hand and, held between his fingers and thumb, was the wriggling, struggling snitch.

All three Marauders, in fact all of the present Gryffindors, were very impressed. No one had expected Peter's team to get the coveted Golden Snitch, highly prized because it was the only one-of-a-kind item on the list. James and Sirius broke out into identical grins and patted Peter on the back.

"Well done, Peter!" James said.

"Yes, congratulations. Well, I think this means your team won the most difficult object contest," Remus, also grinning, announced. James and Sirius both groaned at this revelation. Remus continued, "We owe your team the formal announcement at supper tomorrow night. The most items portion of the contest is a tie."

"Oh yeah? _Accio_ feather." James called the feather from Sirius' pile to him. Then he grinned and lit it on fire. "Now we have the most items."

"Hmm," Sirius said thoughtfully. Then he pointed his wand at James' feather. "_Reducto_." And James' feather blew up with a tiny 'pop.'

"Wait!" Remus stepped between the two boys. "Before you go blowing up any school property… we'll have to think of another way to settle this."

"Oh honestly," Lily said. "Why can't you both have won?"

"NO," both boys said in unison.

"We need to put these things away. We can debate who won or what the tie breaker will be later," Remus reasoned.

"Tie breaker?" James said.

"Excellent idea," Sirius agreed.

Having agreed to hold off the contest until later, it was time to put the items away. They decided that, for how late it was, not all of the students should participate in returning things to their proper place. Fewer students would attract less attention. Remus, Peter, Lily, and Gillette were to take care of most of the classroom items and the trophies. Sirius and James were to return the nifflers, plants, crystal vials, robes, chains, and the Golden Snitch. Frank, who had yet to divulge the secret of his success in obtaining butterbeers, promised to go get some with Alice, in anticipation of calling a winner.

Peter and Gillette took care of the lower level items, while Remus and Lily took the upper levels.

As they were leaving the Trophy Room, Remus said, "Did you have fun today?"

Blushing slightly, Lily admitted, "Yes, I did." She had joined the hunt mostly because Gillette wanted to do it. But she soon discovered the fun of the hunt, and the exhilarating feeling of escaping detection and avoiding getting caught. Even the near-misses had left her heart pounding in a good way.

"We're not all that bad, are we?" Remus asked with a smirk.

Lily glanced over at him. The Marauders had always been an annoyance to her. They pranced around like peacocks… well, mostly James and Sirius, and they tossed aside rules at will. Not to mention they had a habit of picking on people that didn't seem to meet their exacting standards – primarily Slytherins. Lily didn't think all Slytherins were bad, but it was hard to tell since, the worse James and Sirius got, the fewer Slytherins there were who were willing to talk to Gryffindors. Having experienced prejudice in her own life, it always irked her when people classified others into groups rather than dealing with them as individuals.

"Well, _you're_ not, anyway. I really don't know the others… And don't care to," she added. She didn't want to associate with people like them, she told herself.

"Why not?" Remus asked, genuinely curious, with no hint of condemnation in his voice.

"They don't treat people fairly. They tend to group people based on some label – Slytherin or … annoying or… something. I just … it hurts when you're labeled in some way and you're treated badly because of that label."

Remus was surprised to hear the sorrow in Lily's voice. He knew she had been picked on a few times by the likes of Snape for being muggle-born, but most students didn't care about such things and would never allow her to be picked on. James certainly wouldn't. So he was surprised to hear how deeply affected she was by it. He didn't, however, feel that he knew her well enough to ask her about it. He knew that the issue with his friends wasn't… well… as black and white as it seemed. His friends had some very good reasons for not liking the Slytherins. But she also had a point. They never tried to get to know _any_ of the Slytherins. They just assumed they were all the same. On the other hand, his friends had gotten to know him and when they found out he was a werewolf, they brushed aside any prejudice that was normally felt. He wondered if they met certain Slytherins under different circumstances, if they would have been able to become friends.

"It's not that simple, Lily," Remus defended.

"It never is. But that doesn't make it right."

The rest of their conversation was lighter. They kept to subjects like class work, who their favorite professor was, and Gillette's crush on Sirius.

James and Sirius first returned the snitch, for fear of losing it. Then they returned the bouncing bulbs to the green houses and the nifflers to their cages, making sure to drag the Slytherin robes through the fertilizer and allowing the nifflers to run amok on them before picking them up and heading back to the castle. Once outside the Slytherin common room, they took the chains from Filches office and used a sticking charm to secure them to the wall. Then they hung the robes from the chains, making it appear that there were students hanging from them.

After that, they went to return the Ravenclaw robes. The waited outside the Ravenclaw common room until a student came out of that entrance.

Sirius said, "Excuse me. Is Andromeda in there?"

"Yes, I'll go get her," the fifth-year boy stated.

After a moment, Andromeda came out of her common room with a curious expression on her face. "Oh, Sirius. What's up?"

"We just… borrowed some Ravenclaw robes and now we're returning them."

"Ah, yes. The Scavenger Hunt. How'd it go?"

Both James and Sirius smiled. "It was great! We may have to do it again next year," James said.

"Good. Well… I'll return these. Oh, and Sirius… Watch out for Daly. She's a bit… um… Just, be smart with her, okay?"

"Right." Sirius blushed furiously and James watched him curiously.

As they walked away, James waited as long as he could before curiosity got the better of him. "So are you going to tell me what that was all about?"

"It was nothing." Sirius brushed off the question, but he was still blushing and had a curious crooked grin on his face.

"Nothing? Come on, mate! Since when do we keep secrets? Man! I leave you alone for one day and I miss… something. What happened!?" he demanded.

Sirius cleared his throat and glanced nervously at his friend before launching into the story.

James laughed. "Oh man! To have seen that! So… what does this mean?"

"Nothing," Sirius insisted. "Nothing. Look, let's just return these robes and head back to the common room."

"You mean, return the _Hufflepuff_ robes." James was enjoying this way too much. It wasn't often he saw his confident friend look so unsure of himself.

"Yes."

After a few minutes, James asked, "So… Do you like her?"

Looking shocked, Sirius responded, "What?! I don't know. I mean, she is cute. I really hadn't thought about it. And she's three years older than I."

Much to Sirius' relief, their conversation was interrupted because they reached the Hufflepuff common room. Then he realized he'd probably have to speak to Moira again, and that made the butterflies in his stomach take flight.

They waited for a few minutes to see if anyone would go in or come out of the entrance. And sure enough, after a couple minutes' wait, someone did arrive, or rather many someones - the entire Hufflepuff Quidditch team. They were greeted warmly by the house team, but James noticed a few were casting suspicious glances at him and Sirius.

"What can we do for you?" Brock, the team captain, asked.

Moira stepped forward, grinning. "I believe one of them has something that belongs to me." There was some faint chuckling coming from behind her.

Pulling up his reserve of courage again, Sirius stepped forward, matching her grin. "You left your robe with me and I'm here to return it. Along with these." Sirius pulled out all four Hufflepuff robes and handed them off - one hand under the robes, the other hand on top, to keep them from falling. Moira put her hands directly over Sirius' and held them there for a second before taking the robes from him.

"Thank you very much. Let me know if you need anything else. I hope you won."

"Alas, I did not - yet." Sirius bowed his head in mock shame. "The snitch was my downfall."

"You just need an _experienced_ seeker on your team."

"Indeed. Perhaps next time." Sirius bowed again and walked away. James followed a step behind.

Glancing back to see if the Hufflepuffs had disappeared into their common room, James shook his head. "Okay, that was just weird."

Sirius shrugged. "Yeah. I kind of had the feeling we weren't talking about the same thing."

"I like the direct approach. It's less confusing," James said confidently.

"Yeah? So when are you going to ask Lily out?"

James' head turned so suddenly toward Sirius, his neck cracked. "What? Who said anything about… Evans?"

Sirius laughed. "Mm-hmm. The direct approach."

By the time they had gotten back to the common room, everyone was enjoying the butterbeer that Frank and Alice had brought back, and a mini-party was under way. Apparently even the fifth- and seventh-years decided a good break was in order.

It was Frank who came up with the tie breaker. "Listen up," he said in a hushed voice to the Marauders and the few fellow hunters that were still awake. "I have it. I happen to know of a secret tunnel that leads off Hogwarts grounds. I'll even tell you where it is. Whoever opens the passage first – that's the winner."

This was huge news to the Marauders. They knew there were secret passages, tunnels and rooms all over the castle. They did not know that any of these passages actually left school grounds. This was a challenge they would take up simply for the knowledge. It was a bonus to them that it would determine who won the scavenger hunt.

Frank told them that the statue of the humpbacked witch on the third floor was the entrance to the tunnel. They were both given a day to prepare, as it was already quite late, and tomorrow night they would see who would win the contest.

At supper the next night, Sirius, James and Remus donned their dress robes and went down to supper early. They waited for Peter's team to arrive, which they were told to do as a group. When they entered the Great Hall, Sirius announced the group to the rest of the Hall. "Now comes 'The Fearless Explorer' and his crew." There was applause from the other players in the Scavenger Hunt, to the slight confusion of the rest of the school. They were then led to the table – the two girls of the team were escorted on the arms of Sirius and James, much to Gillette's delight. Then the three Marauders acted as maître d's for the rest of the evening; escorting the group back out of the hall when they were finished.

The only downside of the evening was the cat-calls from the Slytherins, and what had started off as fun became a bit of a chore. They were particularly hard on Sirius, saying things like, "Is being a waiter the only thing the Black heir is good for these days?" and "Your parents must be proud, Black." He took it all pretty well in stride until Narcissa came up to him and pointed out that he was not only embarrassing himself but her as well, and his mum would be hearing about his latest besmirching of the family name. He glared at her as she left, but then returned to what he had been doing, albeit a little more subdued.

After the meal, the boys escorted the team back out of the hall. Gillette, who was on Sirius' arm, leaned in and, with a warm smile, said, "Don't worry about what they said. I think you're great. I know I had a wonderful time."

Sirius smiled back and patted her hand, "Well thank you, m'Lady." It was easier said then done – to not be bothered – but he wasn't going to let his cousin ruin a perfectly good evening. "I still think you should have worn the hat, Peter," Sirius smirked.

Peter looked back. "No, thank you."

When everyone returned to the common room, the team members returned to their usual clicks and the Marauders prepared for their night out. James grabbed his invisibility cloak and they snuck out and went to where Frank said the witch was located. Both Sirius and James tried a few spells that were supposed to reveal passwords, but to no avail. Then they tried random words.

"What if it's not just a word?" Sirius asked. In light of this exciting revelation, the competition was temporarily pushed aside and they opted to work together.

"What, you mean like 'Knock three times on the ceiling'?" James asked.

"Yeah."

"It could be anything then…" James said in exasperation. He and Sirius looked back at Peter who had started humming.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. My mum likes muggle music," Peter explained. Remus snickered. "Have we tried just 'open'?"

James tried tapping on the statue while saying 'open'.

"What if the word's not English? A lot of our spells are Latin based," Remus suggested.

"Mmm… How about… dissocio?" Sirius tried. When the others looked at him curiously, he shrugged, "Me and the dictionary. Good times over the holidays."

"Dissocio… dissos… descend?" James worked through various forms of the word, tapping the statue with each attempt.

"Descend… dissent… _Dissendium_!" Sirius said. It was a spell he could vaguely remember hearing before. When nothing happened, he said, "Maybe whoever says the word has to also tap the statue. How many times do you reckon I should tap it?"

Still humming quietly, Peter said, "Three."

Sirius smirked. "Okay." – _tap, tap, tap_ – "_Dissendium_." And the statue opened. Peter squeaked in excitement and Sirius started bouncing to prevent himself from whooping. "Yes!"

They made plans to traverse the tunnel on the next Friday night when they wouldn't be restricted by classes the next day, despite Sirius' protestations.

The Marauders returned to the common room, satisfied with the night's work. And, of course, Sirius made sure that everyone who was awake, knew he was the final winner of the challenge.

That Friday, they used the secret passage at the one-eyed witch, exiting the tunnel in the Honeydukes basement. They snuck up the basement stairs, making sure not to knock over any inventory on their way. Sirius and James grabbed a couple of licorice wands on their way through the store. Remus nudged them before they left, so James went back and placed some money on the counter.

Sirius smiled and shook his head at Remus' saintly conscience. He ribbed Remus occasionally for being "too good," but he appreciated how Remus looked out for them.

Once the Marauders were out of the store, they could talk freely, no longer having to worry about the proprietors who lived above the store.

"So where are we headed?" Peter asked.

"The Three Broomsticks?" Sirius replied.

"You're kidding, right?" Remus looked at Sirius in astonishment. "We'll get caught for sure."

"Look. I figure that Frank and Alice and whoever came before them, didn't pull butterbeer out of their arses. They had to get it from somewhere. Which means - I'm sure students show up occasionally and nobody cares."

"Unless there's a teacher there," James added.

"So?" Sirius ignored James' statement and waited for agreement from the others. "Tell you what," Sirius continued when Remus and Peter still looked hesitant. "James and I will go in and if we get in trouble, then it will be just the two of us who get detention." Sirius took his pack off his shoulder and held it out for Remus to take. "Meanwhile, you two can take the cloak and act as look-outs in case any professor's do show up."

Peter and Remus glanced at each other, then back at Sirius and nodded.

They made their way to The Three Broomsticks, making sure to keep a careful eye out for any professors or staff from the school. Once they arrived, James and Sirius headed inside. It was hard to sneak into that establishment as there were shrunken heads hanging in the entrance who made snide comments to those who entered. Fortunately, it didn't appear as though any school staff were currently present.

James and Sirius took seats at a nearby table and waited for Madam Rosmerta to come over.

She smiled at them when she came, "Well, somehow I'm not surprised that you two are the latest students to find your way here. So, what'll it be?"

James and Sirius realized their hunch had been right and she wasn't going to turn them in. "Can we get four butterbeers to go?" James asked.

"Sure thing. Small order tonight, eh?" she winked at them before walking away.

When she returned with their drinks, she leaned over the table slightly and lowered her voice conspiratorially, "I happen to know that if you follow the road out of town and head up the hill, there is a cozy cave overlooking the village. I understand it's quite a sight at night, what with the twinkling lights of the school in the distance."

"Why Rosmerta! When do you get off?" Sirius shamelessly flirted with the older woman.

Rosmerta laughed gently and said, "Give it a couple years, dear, and you might have a chance."

James and Sirius chuckled together as they left. When they got outside, they handed Remus and Peter their butterbeers, then headed in the direction of the cave Madam Rosmerta had told them about. Remus and Peter followed, wondering if the other two knew where they were going or if they were just wandering.

The cave was a bit of a hike but, other than that, relatively easy to find. The climb was made somewhat more difficult with butterbeers in hand, but they made it.

"Excellent," James replied as he looked around. "I wonder how many people actually know about this cave?"

"Frank and Alice, probably. I wonder how many other students sneak out of school," Sirius contemplated.

Remus was investigating to see how far back the cave went.

"It's a cave," Peter shrugged, sounding thoroughly unimpressed.

"Do you have no imagination?" Sirius asked. "Think of the things we could do here. Who we could bring." Sirius smirked.

"The uninterrupted planning," James added. "It's like a clubhouse!"

After a couple of hours of sitting and talking in the cave, and then exploring the small village in the dead of night, the boys decided it was time to head back for the evening. They could return whenever they wanted, now.

Aside from the usual mischief making, the rest of the year went by without event. Remus was granted a special leave due to the fact that his last transformation of the year occurred during exams. It was easier to say that he had a family emergency and had to leave early for the year, rather than leave for two days and have to come back to make up exams, potentially leading to suspicion among fellow students. It gave the entire summer for most students to forget his absence and not ask too many questions.

This also meant, however, that the train ride home was different than what the three remaining Marauders were used to. The vacant seat was still, in a way, occupied by Remus. The boys even jokingly put a book on his usual seat to fill his space.

"So what does everyone have planned for this summer?" James asked.

"Bella's wedding is in a couple of weeks. That should be a ball." Sirius actually sounded better about this holiday than he had in the past. The relatively easy Christmas holiday gave him hope that this one might not be so bad. With a grin, Sirius asked, "How about you, Peter? Is John still around?"

Peter rolled his eyes and groaned miserably, "Don't remind me."

"Well, don't worry. I don't think we're doing anything either. This may end up being a boring summer."

Boring, the summer was not. In fact, for all of the Marauders, the summer before their third year at Hogwarts was the worst they'd had thus far.

- - - - -

A/N - Thanks again for the reviews and encouragement. I really appreciate it, and it helps make the story better, so thank you. Thanks also to my editors, Mom and mei mei, and my lovely beta, J.A.Carlton. Ya'll are awesome! Oh and the song that Peter is humming is called "Knock Three Times" by Tony Orlando and Dawn. It's from 1971 apparently. My mom had a tendency to burst out into song when I was growing up (who said musicals were unrealistic :-D) and this was one of the many she would start singing.

In case anyone is curious, I have officially finished this story through all seven years at Hogwarts. Yea! Now to start the last part - the War.

Nonair- Thanks again for the kind comments. I'm glad you enjoy my version of Peter. I still find him hard to write, but I'm glad he's coming across well. And thanks. I'm glad you liked the interaction between Lily and the boys.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer - Usual.

Chapter 32

Peter's life felt so upside-down at home since John became a part of his mum's life, that he actually preferred being at school. It was hard to complain about this to his friends, since his problem didn't seem near as 'big' as being hated by your family or as being a cursed half-breed. And even in the times he did decide to share a bit of his frustration, his friends were more amused than sympathetic.

Rationally, he understood why. He was a now-teenage boy whose biggest complaint about his home life was that his mum no longer revolved her life around him. But it was what he was used to, it was what he had looked forward to, his first year coming home, and he resented John for taking that away from him. He felt rather replaced.

He had hoped that, given enough time, the star-struck quality of their relationship would fade and eventually John would leave, too. While they no longer giggled incessantly or looked at each other in doe-eyed fashion, the comfortable living pattern they'd settled into was, in some ways, worse.

To make things more difficult, Mrs. Pettigrew expected Peter to treat John with respect – almost as head of the house. This had been Peter's position since before he knew what that meant. His mum had always called him her "little man" or "man-of-the-house." His only hope, still, was that John would eventually leave. As much as he loved his mum, she really was not that exciting a woman and he couldn't understand what John saw in her that kept him around.

Then, about two weeks after he returned home, John approached Peter while his mother was at the grocery store.

"Peter. I have a question to ask you." Peter just shrugged and continued to do his summer classwork. "Peter?"

With a sigh, Peter put down his quill and looked up at John.

"Peter, I would like to ask your mother to marry me, but I would like your blessing first, as man of the house."

Peter glared at John incredulously. He had to be kidding. Not only was he planning on sticking around, but he was asking permission! Trying to delay answering the question, Peter asked his own, "What do you do for a living?"

John chuckled jovially, "Ah, want to make sure your mum is well cared for. Well, I was an Auror for a number of years, but decided to retire young, while I still had my good looks." John winked when he said this, obviously trying to make a joke, but it was lost on Peter. "Peter… You know that you will always have a place here. And you're still your mum's favorite man…" Peter perked up at this compliment. It was childish, he knew, which made him feel embarrassed, but the fact that it was acknowledged made him feel better. John continued, "But you're not here all the time, and… sometimes adults enjoy… adult company. I could never replace you though. You know that, right?" John's tone was caring.

"Mmm. Well… I suppose mum could do worse," Peter relented. He still wasn't happy about this development, but he really didn't feel he could say no.

A week later John proposed to Mrs. Pettigrew and Peter's summer only got worse. They were giggling again, only now they wanted Peter to go places with them – to pick out a dress and a reception hall and all sorts of things that left men in tears, let alone thirteen-year-old boys.

It was two weeks before school was going to start when Peter got an owl bearing the worst news of the summer yet. The owl was from Remus. It said simply, "Dear Peter, I am not returning to school. Thank you for being my friend. Remus." Later that same day, he received another owl from James. It read, "Peter, I'm going to Moony's to find out what's happened. I'll keep in touch. James."

- - - - -

Sirius, on the other hand, had an entirely different experience. At first, his parents decided to try to ignore him. He figured they thought if they ignored him long enough, he'd be begging to come back into the family. To add insult to injury, they lavished attention on Regulus, the latest member of the Black Family to be attending Hogwarts. Just as his god-son learned some twenty-five years later, being ignored had its good points and bad points. He was no longer being criticized for breathing too loudly, but he also had to get his own food, do his own laundry, and otherwise be self-sufficient. He ended up deciding that this was most beneficial for the future. He was still living out of his trunk and was counting the years and days until he'd be leaving this house for good.

It made Bella's wedding interesting. He was not introduced with the rest of his family and he did not sit with them. Sirius entertained himself by going to the children's table and making a fool of himself, to the enjoyment of all the children seated there, and the displeasure of the parents. He thought for sure he would be yelled at for acting in an undignified manner but, to his surprise, his parents maintained the guise that he was not really there. At the end of the night, his Uncle Alphard got him home because, apparently, he had successfully mortified his parents, much to Alphard's delight, so they left without him.

After a month of this treatment, however, it was starting to grate on Sirius' nerves. It would have been one thing for him to choose to live on his own, but to become invisible to all other members of the house, to become a non-entity, wore away at his sanity. He couldn't thank James enough for the mirror from Christmas. He sometimes began to wonder if he didn't have James, and the occasional letter from the others, if he would just cease to exist.

What bothered him most was how Regulus went along with it. While he would acknowledge Sirius with glances, he never spoke to him. Sirius couldn't blame him; he wouldn't wish this treatment on anyone. He just wished his brother had a little more backbone or a little more of an adventurous spirit that would make him at least try to contact him. He knew they could work out some form of communication if Regulus would just try. Finally, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Sirius put a lot of energy into trying to get Regulus to laugh. He hoped if he would laugh, it would break the ice and they could start talking again. At first he tried to be subtle about his attempts, but when those failed, he resorted to more extreme, and obvious, measures. Every morning for a week, he changed his hairstyle, making it stick up straight in a Mohawk one day, spiking it like a porcupine the next, slicking it back like a twenties-style American gangster, and fixing it in Shirley Temple type curls. He noticed by the end of the week that Regulus seemed to be looking for him to show up at breakfast, anticipating the new "do" for the day. When he donned the curls, Regulus actually snickered, but this was quickly smothered by a severe word from Mrs. Black.

Sirius soon realized that, the harder he tried to get his brother to laugh, the harder his parents were on Regulus, thus undoing everything he was trying to do. He didn't want to get his brother in trouble, and Regulus would shoot him nasty looks every time he did, so he gave up on that.

By mid-summer, he decided to resort to an oldie – he took a midnight trip to his brother's room. When he reached the threshold of Regulus' room, he took a step to enter. However, an invisible barrier had been set up that bounced Sirius back out of the doorway and into the wall behind him. The subsequent crash woke Regulus, who hopped out of bed and approached his doorway, but didn't cross. He simply stared at Sirius.

"No, no. Don't worry. I'm fine," Sirius said sarcastically as he got up stiffly.

Mr. Black came running to find out what had happened. When he saw Sirius standing in the hall outside Regulus' room, he turned and called to his wife, "It's nothing, dear. Go back to bed."

Sirius watched his father walk away, and then he watched his brother return to bed. He stood in the hall for a moment. Despite the summer warmth in the house, Sirius felt cold and betrayed. His brother had done nothing – said nothing. And he couldn't understand why he felt like someone died. He had never known anyone who had died, but he wondered if this is how the survivors felt – alone, looking at an empty doorway, where someone you loved was supposed to be standing.

He withdrew into himself for a while. His conversations in the mirror with James were short. They were enough to keep him existing, but they sucked a lot of energy out of him. Talking with James through the mirror reminded him of school and freedom from the oppression of his current life, but he didn't want to depress James or make him worry, so he forced a façade of lighthearted exasperation with his family, and nothing more serious than that.

It wasn't until the end of summer, two weeks before school started, that he was kicked out of his wallowing by a letter from a friend. An owl arrived with a letter from Remus, "Dear Sirius, I am not returning to school. Thank you for being my friend. Moony."

"Sirius Black," Sirius heard the faint call from the mirror.

"James!? Did you get the letter from Moony?" James nodded. "What the bloody hell is going on? Why isn't he coming back?"

"I don't know. But I sent a letter to Peter. I'm going to visit the Lupins – today if Dad will take me. I don't suppose you can make it?"

Sirius frowned. _What the hell? They're ignoring me anyway, I may as well be gone_. "Yeah, but it's going to be tricky. How are you getting there?"

"Really?" James broke out into a grin. "You think your parents will let you come?"

"No! Don't be daft. But if I can sneak out… Would your father be willing to apparate with me?"

"I'll find out how we're getting there." James left the field of vision. After five minutes he returned. "Mum said that she and Dad will both come and then one of them can apparate with you and the other with me. But…"

"There's a park at the end of my street. Meet me there. There's plenty of trees around and nobody goes there anymore. It should be safe. How soon are you leaving?"

"One hour?"

"I'll be there."

Sirius was already packed. All he had to do was sneak out of the house. Since he had spent so much time in his room or being ignored, he figured he would be safe leaving and nobody would notice for a while.

Forty-five minutes later, he was crawling out of his window – a painful reminder of the past. He ran down the street to the park and waited amongst the trees. After a few minutes of waiting, Sirius was rewarded with the "crack" sound of someone apparating. All three of the Potters stood before Sirius. They glanced around cautiously, not wanting to catch the attention of any muggles.

Mrs. Potter, smiling warmly, walked up to Sirius and gave him a hug. Then she took a step back and held him at arms length, inspecting him. Her smile faltered, "Are you all right, dear?"

Sirius nodded. After the summer of isolation, the very simple, unselfish touch and the love inherent in it nearly brought the starving boy to tears. But he pushed his own feelings aside and turned his attention to James. "Are they expecting us?"

James made a so-so gesture with his hand. "We used the floo to contact them. I don't know if Moo… Remus knows we're coming, but his parents do. His mum even said that she had thought about contacting us herself."

"We should be going," Mr. Potter said. He took James by the hand and Mrs. Potter took Sirius' hand.

With a crack, they arrived in an open field not far from a slightly worn-down house. As they approached the house, they heard loud voices floating out through the open windows. James and Sirius exchanged nervous glances. Whatever they thought Remus' life was like, this wasn't it.

"Tell him!" a woman's voice, probably Mrs. Lupin, yelled. "Tell him! He needs to know."

The four people outside didn't hear anything for a minute, then there was a crash and the slamming of a back door. They watched as Remus ran away from the house toward a forest. Sirius and James nodded to each other.

"Mum?"

"Go ahead. We'll be inside."

- - - - -

A/N - Once again, thank you all for the awesome reviews and for adding me to your alerts. Ya'll are awesome! Thanks, too, to my editors - Mom and mei mei - and my beta - J.A. Carlton. Thanks for keeping me honest and making the story better.

Zenna - Thank you very much for the review. Thanks for the comments on pacing. This story is long, so I'm glad to hear that it's moving well and not getting boring or confusing. Thank you.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer - Usual. (I know... so original.)

Chapter 33

Remus was having an uncomfortable summer. So much of his family's life revolved around his lycanthropy. He'd forgotten what that was like. While at school, he only had to worry about his transformation at the full moon. There were so many other things going on at school that few paid attention to him, where he went once a month or why. He had friends who didn't care what he was and, while they were still trying to become animagi because of it, that wasn't their sole purpose at school.

At home, however, despite trying to achieve a normal life, his lycanthropy colored everything they did. The first thing he noticed when he arrived home was that a few more family heirlooms were missing. He sighed, knowing that they had been sold. His father really did travel quite extensively, but it was done in an attempt to find a cure for his son. Remus appreciated the gesture, and was grateful, but he also knew that it made it difficult for his father to hold a steady job. They had never been as wealthy as the Potters or the Blacks, so their meager resources were quickly dwindling. Apparently, now that Remus was gone at school, his mum had taken on a full time job in the muggle village not far away.

Aside from the money, there was the constant protectiveness. People did not come to the house, and those that did were quickly ushered away. Remus noticed, too, that a phone had been installed in the house. He thought this unusual until he overheard his mum talking to someone.

"No, no, Eileen. I told you, my son is home from school and we want to spend time with him. I'll start coming again in the fall."

Mrs. Lupin not only had a muggle job, she was making muggle friends. This, in itself, didn't bother Remus. He was even glad that his mum finally had some friends again. He just felt bad for intruding on that life. His mum's life had changed considerably since he started going to school, and he felt he was somehow hindering her.

In addition to all of this, Remus' transformations continued to change, however minutely. He was remembering a lot more now than ever before. Rather than vague feelings and the occasional images, he was remembering whole snippets of time. The un-emotional, scientific side of him thought this was interesting. It was weird to see things from a wolf's perspective. But he didn't know what it meant either. Was this a good thing? Was he gaining control over the wolf? Or was it a bad thing? Was the wolf becoming more powerful, to be able to push through whatever barrier Remus had believed separated him from the wolf?

Internally, he was still bucking the use of the collar, and now even the chains bothered him. He hadn't realized how much he appreciated the safety of the shack and the freedom it provided. More than that was the dignity with which he was treated. But he felt selfish for his change of heart and kept his mouth shut.

His August transformation started like the previous ones and it wasn't until the next afternoon that he knew something was horribly wrong. He woke up on the hard floor and, keeping his eyes shut, performed his usual self-evaluation. He was surprised by the lack of muscle aches and pains from being bitten. Then he remembered that, being chained and collared, he wouldn't have been able to bite himself. But still, the lack of aches was a little disconcerting. His disorientation started to clear and questions started springing to mind. If it was afternoon, he should be in bed, not on the floor. He did a mental check, scanning for memories from the previous night. Trees. Trees, running and… blood?

Heart pounding, Remus sat bolt upright. Staring around him, he was horrified to find himself in the middle of a forest. Panic engulfed him as his mind raced through a million different scenarios, with the memories from the previous night coming back like blows from a hammer. He focused all his energy on the simple task of breathing, to try to force his mind to clear and calm to be restored. After a minute, he was not able to reach a calm state, but at least he was able to think again. _Home. I must get home._ Far from being a comforting notion, he was terrified of what he would find when he got home. He knew the forest behind his house very well. He knew he had traveled quite a distance and it would take him some time to get home from where he was. _I don't even have my wand, not that I'm allowed to do magic. _Remus glanced down._ Huh… clothes would be nice, too._

He trudged on, each step becoming more difficult to take. Images of his family torn to shreds assailed his mind. They weren't memories, thank goodness, but he had a very active imagination. Finally he reached the forest edge and saw his house. He stopped and stared at it, paralyzed by the fear of what lay inside.

But then he caught movement and his mum burst from the back door carrying a blanket. He fell to his knees as exhaustion and relief washed over him.

"Oh my goodness, Remus! We were so worried." She could barely speak for the tears streaming down her face. She wrapped the blanket around her son and then wrapped her arms around him, too. She held on to him, trying to speak words of comfort while she cried.

A few minutes passed and Remus heard the rapid footfalls of his father joining them. His father dropped to the ground and grabbed them all in a tight embrace. Remus didn't know how long they remained like that, it seemed like hours to him, but with everything that happened over and above his normally exhausting transformations, he was losing his battle with sleep.

"Come on. Let's get him inside," he heard his father whisper. He was lifted and carried inside. He thought, vaguely, that at thirteen, he should find this embarrassing, but he wasn't. He wasn't… anything.

He slept until the next morning, which was unusual even for him. When he woke up, he felt well rested, but not quite himself. There was still that hollow emptiness where he knew he should be feeling something – fear, guilt, worry. It was still early and his parents hadn't come downstairs yet, so he traveled to the basement. He saw where the collar had been snapped and the chains yanked free from the wall. He couldn't quite figure out how he got out of the chains, but there they lay, on the floor. The door to the cage had been pounded open. How he did not have a splitting headache, he wasn't sure. It was all very surreal. He should not have been able to escape. There were so many precautions – the collar, the chains, the cage, the spell on the door. But somehow he had. He realized, for the first time, that the wolf was actually intelligent. Really, it made sense. He liked to think of them as two separate entities – Remus and the wolf. But maybe they weren't as separate as he thought. In which case, the wolf might be smart enough to find a way out.

Remus took note of all of this in a very analytical way. The thought occurred to him that if the wolf was, in fact, more a part of him than he realized, if it was smart and could problem solve, and if it could manage to escape from his well- protected home – what was to keep it from doing the same at Hogwarts. Sure, Dumbledore was a highly skilled and powerful wizard. But was that something he was willing to risk? He decided he would have to withdraw from school. It was the only way to keep his friends safe. Sure he'd lose them, but they'd be safe, along with everyone else at the school. He still remembered seeing blood the night of his escape. It obviously wasn't his, and nobody had come forward claiming to have been bitten by a wolf, nor had anyone been reported killed. That eased his mind slightly, but the possibilities of what could have happened were still very real.

A day later, Remus wrote three notes – one to each of his friends – thanking them for being a friend and letting them know he would not be returning. He then informed his parents of his decision and returned to his room. He could hear his mum crying, but it was just one more ice cube in the pile that surrounded him and wrapped him in cold, hard numbness.

The next morning at breakfast, Remus was sitting at the table staring at his food.

"Remus?" his mum tried to get him to open up. "Remus, please. Talk to us." When this failed, she turned to her husband. "We have to tell him."

Both Mr. Lupin and Remus looked up at Mrs. Lupin.

"It's killing him and this…" she gestured at her son, "… it's not fair." Remus was surprised at the anger in her voice. Turning back to her son, she said, "Remus, this isn't your fault. None of this is. You can't keep blaming yourself for what's happening. Tell him, George."

"Your mother's right. This isn't your fault. We'll just have to… try harder next time." Mr. Lupin looked incredibly guilty.

"Mum, Dad. I know you're trying to make me feel better, but…" Remus sighed, unsure what to say. "I could have killed you the other night. And I don't want to take that chance at school. Somehow, I figured out how to get out. It will happen again. And… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how messed up everything is. I'm sorry for… being this way, for ruining your lives."

"Remus!" Mrs. Lupin put her hand on Remus', then surprised him by standing up suddenly. "Tell him!" she yelled. "Tell him! He needs to know."

Remus looked from his mum to his dad.

Mr. Lupin sighed in defeat. "Remus, it really isn't your fault. Years ago, when you were young, I… There was this werewolf, Fenrir Greyback. He was well known for attacking children and taking them to raise them as, what he called, 'proper werewolves.' Somehow, our paths crossed and I… I offended him. He sought retribution." Remus was listening closely to what was being said and with each word his breathing increased. He knew what was coming and he wanted to run – run before his father could make it real by actually saying it out loud. "He attacked you. Left you alive on purpose with the intent…"

"No!" Remus jumped to his feet causing his chair to crash to the floor behind him. He turned and ran out the back door.

Chapter 34

James and Sirius ran most of the way to Remus, but once they were within a hundred meters, they slowed to a walk, not wanting to rush Remus and have him bolt.

"He's doing the hair thing again," Sirius observed, trying to sound casual. Remus was, in fact, pacing, both hands fisted in his hair, like the afternoon the Marauders found out he was a werewolf.

Remus suddenly stopped and bent over double. Had he eaten anything in the last two days, it would have been nicely decorating the forest floor, but he hadn't, so there was just a dry, painful-sounding heaving, as his body did what his mind could not and dislodged the stopper he'd capped over his emotions.

James and Sirius both ran up next to their friend. James put his hand on Remus' back and Sirius grabbed his arm to keep him from falling over. Remus tried weakly to push them away, but ended up just dropping to his knees, tears streaming down his face. He sat and pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his head on them.

The other two boys sat down next to him and waited.

Minutes passed in silence. Remus started gathering himself together. His breathing evened out and he became quite still. Every once in a while James and Sirius would cast a furtive glance at their friend, but respectfully said nothing.

Then, in an almost ordinary manner, Remus, head still bowed, asked, "What are you doing here?"

Both Sirius and James stared at him in disbelief.

"What are we doing here?" James asked incredulously. "We get a letter from you saying you're not coming back to school and you wonder what we're doing here?"

Remus lifted his head, but looked out into the forest rather than at his friends. "You could have… I don't know… written back," he said, his sarcasm a little more biting than usual.

"What? And miss you spewing all over the forest floor?" Sirius said, matching his tone.

"I don't need rescuing." His voice was quiet and hoarse.

"Who says _we're_ rescuing _you_? I, for one, don't think I can handle Peter whining about class all year. Not to mention I've gotten pretty used to not taking notes. I kind of like having a personal secretary."

"Sirius, shut up." James' tone was quiet, not harsh, but it was enough to silence the other boy. "Remus? What's going on?"

Remus got to his feet and started pacing again, but this time his hands were in his pockets. He stopped some three feet in front of the other two boys and said, miserably, "I got out the other night." Neither Sirius nor James reacted much to this news and it threw Remus. "I got out! As in… while in werewolf form… I escaped our basement."

"Mm… Okay," Sirius shrugged.

"How thick are you? I could have killed someone… My parents even."

"But… you didn't, right? I mean, if you had… Well, I'm sure the ministry would be involved by now."

For a second, Remus envied Sirius' simplistic view of his life. "That's not the point. I could have."

"You really can't spend your life worrying about what could have happened, mate. That's a road to madness. We make an infinite number of decisions in a day and each one is affected by the ones that came before… even years before. But you can't let it determine who you are from this point on. Each chance you get to make a choice… that's a new chance to do things the right way. You got out; nothing happened. Don't let 'nothing' steal your future."

Remus blinked. "Who are you and what have you done with Sirius?"

Sirius grinned. "What can I say? I'm endowed with wisdom beyond my years."

James groaned and Remus rolled his eyes, but grinned back.

James jumped into the conversation. "So what's this rubbish about you not coming back to school?"

"I was just… If I could figure out how to escape the basement, what's to say I won't figure out how to get out of the shack? I can't take that chance. There's a whole school of unsuspecting students within reach and I don't want to hurt any of them."

"Well, for one, no offense to your parents, but Dumbledore is brilliant. I don't think even you are smart enough to get past anything he's set up," James answered.

"And two?"

"I… don't really have a 'two.' But Sirius is right. I don't see any reason why you shouldn't come back."

"You have no idea how scary that was," Remus whispered.

His friends really didn't. They couldn't begin to fathom what it felt like to know a werewolf had been on the loose, and that the werewolf was you. So they didn't argue the point or try to pretend.

"You said 'I'," Sirius observed.

"Huh?"

"You said 'I' – 'I' figured out how to escape, 'I' might escape. You've never used 'I' before when talking about your fuzzy side. Just an observation."

"It's 'furry' not 'fuzzy,'" Remus corrected, looking uncomfortable and trying to avoid what Sirius said. But when Sirius kept watching him, he explained, "I just don't know if we're as separate as I used to like to think. I remember more."

Sirius frowned, but said nothing.

"Well, do you remember killing anyone?" James asked. The question was supposed to be a joke, but the look on Remus' face just before he turned his back on them, made the question seem a lot more ominous that he had intended. Sirius and James got up and walked over to Remus.

"Remus?" Sirius asked quietly. "What do you remember?"

"I remember being free." He closed his eyes and smiled at the memory and the feeling of carefree running, in spite of himself. But then he frowned. "I'm… pretty sure I killed or at least attacked… something. I don't know what. I can't quite remember it."

James knew that Remus transformed every month. He heard the stories, and he and the other Marauders had asked questions which Remus patiently answered, wanting them to understand who he was. But watching Remus remember things that had only recently happened and had affected him deeply, it became much more real. Remus wasn't using the carefully guarded tone he normally donned when speaking about his lycanthropy. And the information he was giving wasn't through his normal filter to keep the fear and worry at bay. James vaguely wondered if it was because of Peter that Remus had not been so forthcoming, having picked up that Peter wasn't as comfortable with Remus being a werewolf as James and Sirius were. Or perhaps it was just that this latest experience had so worn him down that he didn't have enough reserves left to muster objective distance. But James was suddenly very afraid – for his friend and the future he faced.

"What exactly do you remember?" Sirius pressed.

"Blood."

"And?"

"And what? Isn't that enough?"

"Well no. I mean… that could be anything. You could have injured yourself…"

"I didn't."

"It could have been an animal, OR" Sirius held up his hand because he knew Remus was going to say werewolves were harmless to animals, "you might have run across something already injured. You don't know. And you can't beat yourself up for something you may not have done. There's plenty of things to feel guilty about – especially with your over-developed conscience – you don't need to add to it with 'what-ifs' and 'maybes.'" Sirius was very insistent. In truth, he was trying to explain things away as much for himself as his friend. Reality seemed to have shifted beneath his feet this morning and he didn't much care for it.

"I guess." Remus still sounded very unsure.

"Hey, once we become animagi, we'll be able to stick with you when you transform. Then we'll know nothing bad happened. But you need to come back and help us," James reasoned.

"Right. Like you wouldn't figure it out on your own."

"Of course we would," Sirius stated confidently. "But what would be the point without you?"

Remus smiled appreciatively at his friends - friends who, even after all of this, still wanted him around. "Thanks."

"Remus," James started tentatively. "What happened right before we showed up? I mean… This all happened two nights ago. What brought you out here, today?"

"My… I…" Remus started to come up with some excuse, but then remembered who he was talking with. "I'd rather not talk about it," his hand came up to prevent protests from his friends, "yet. Not yet. I'll tell you later. I promise." Though, the instant he said those last two words, he regretted it. Not because he didn't trust them, but because he wasn't interested in making his father look bad in front of others.

"Okay. Ready to go back?" James asked. Remus nodded.

When the three boys entered the kitchen, all eyes turned to them and Mrs. Lupin jumped to her feet. The room was tense and expectant.

"I guess… I won't be returning my books after all." Remus smiled a small, shy smile, unlike James and Sirius, who were beaming.

Mrs. Lupin released a short sob of relief and quickly moved across the kitchen to hug her son. Then, while still holding on to Remus, she reached out a hand and cupped first James' cheek, then Sirius'. "Thank you," she whispered. James and Sirius smiled back and then moved to stand with the Potters.

"Mum." Remus pulled away from his mother, adolescent embarrassment taking over.

"Sorry, dear." Mrs. Lupin smiled. Turning to the Potters, she asked, "Will you be staying for dinner?"

"That would be lovely," Mrs. Potter said. "Do you need help?" The two women set to work preparing a meal for the rest.

"Dad." Remus hesitated. "Can I talk with you for a minute?"

"Absolutely!" Mr. Lupin replied. His voice was casual and light, but Sirius noticed that Mrs. Lupin had suddenly stopped what she was working on and was watching the two leave the room, out of the corner of her eye.

Mr. Lupin led his son to the living room and was about to close the French doors when Remus stopped him. "No. I think we have a better chance of not being overheard if I can see who's on the other side of the door." He loved his friends, but he knew they were very… curious and he didn't know if they'd give him the privacy he needed.

His father gave him a curious look, but agreed.

"Dad, I'd like to talk about… what you said earlier. Not now." He glanced into the kitchen and smiled slightly when he saw his friends watching and then try to look away so they wouldn't be caught. "I wanted you to know… I'm not mad or anything. It wouldn't change anything if I was. I was just… surprised, is all."

"Can you forgive me?"

Remus had never heard his father sound this way before. He realized, for the first time, how much he and his father were alike. They both carried around a weight of guilt, whether justified or not. He understood now why his father was so determined to find a cure. It was a need – a need to lift a curse he felt he'd inflicted on his only son. There was pain, sure, but his parents had always been there for him and he couldn't, and wouldn't, turn his back on that for something as petty as a mistake. "There's nothing to forgive. But, yes, I forgive you."

Forgetting what's proper and "manly", Mr. Lupin strode forward and hugged his son, tears of relief slipping down his face and wetting the top of his son's head.

The rest of the evening went well. The two families ate dinner and enjoyed each other's company. The parents shared funny stories from their times at Hogwarts, and embarrassing stories about their kids growing up. There were moments when Sirius felt out of place, but he was also surprised at how comfortable he felt. When they were done eating, the adults congregated in the living room and the kids went outside to play. It was late evening when the adults called the boys in so the Potters could leave.

"It was lovely seeing you again. I'm just sorry it took something so serious to bring us here." Mrs. Potter walked over to Mrs. Lupin and gave her a hug; then she shook Mr. Lupin's hand. "Next time, you'll have to come to our place. Come on boys. All of you," she said teasingly to her husband.

Mr. Potter shook hands with both Lupins. "Good to see you. Wonderful dinner, Helen. Thank you."

Without thinking, Sirius said, "Oi, Moony... Ow!" James elbowed Sirius in the ribs and Remus gave his parents what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Rubbing his side, Sirius continued, "What? Oh…" The light went on as Sirius realized what he said. Chuckling nervously, Sirius explained, "There was a little incident in the common room where a certain someone dared me to… well… you get the picture. If not, I'm sure Remus would love to tell you." Sirius grinned mischievously. Mr. Potter and the Lupins tried to hide their laughter, while Mrs. Potter looked at Sirius as if she was seeing him in a new light. "But what I was going to say is that you should write to Peter and tell him you're returning before he worries himself into a stupor."

"Right. I'll do that," Remus agreed.

Mrs. Lupin walked the group to the front door and watched them disapparate.

The Potters and Sirius arrived on the back porch of the Potter home and went inside.

"So, Sirius, how long did your parents say you could stay?" Mr. Potter asked.

Sirius and James exchanged nervous looks. "Well, sir… My parents don't exactly know that I've left."

Mr. Potter stared at Sirius for a moment as if he were expecting the punch line to a joke. But when nothing else was said, he sat down heavily on one of the kitchen chairs. "Blimey. Tell me you're joking. James?"

"Dad?" James tried to appear as innocent as possible.

"Did you know Sirius had left without permission?"

James had forgotten to mention that detail. He had planned on telling his parents; it just slipped his mind. "Yes sir."

"Of all the irresponsible…" his father started to build steam for a grand lecture, but Mrs. Potter put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to restrain him some. "You do realize this could cause some serious problems." Both boys snickered at the use of the word "serious." "Boys!" Mr. Potter yelled. "This is not funny! For all I know, his parents are going to… bring us up on charges of kidnapping, just to cause problems. You know she threatened…" but he stopped short realizing that he was talking about Sirius' parents and he wasn't sure how much he knew about his last encounter with The Blacks. "Besides, your parents must be worried sick."

Sirius lurched slightly when Mr. Potter said they'd been threatened. But he almost laughed when Mr. Potter suggested his parents might be worried. "Doubt it," Sirius mumbled.

Mr. Potter sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I have to take you back, right away."

"Charles…" Mrs. Potter began. She moved closer to Sirius in a protective way.

"No! He has to go back," he said to his wife. Addressing Sirius, he added, "And I'd suggest you come up with a very convincing apology."

Sirius' head was down now, but James knew his friend well enough to know it wasn't guilt or shame he was feeling, but fear and resignation.

"Dad. We can't just leave him there. They'll kill him." James didn't honestly think this was true, but he did think Sirius might be in danger.

"I highly doubt that."

"They won't do anything." Sirius' voice was barely above whispered. "James, just leave it. They won't do anything." He wasn't sure if he was trying to convince James or himself. But he had been ignored all summer, so maybe his luck would hold out.

"We're going and you," Mr. Potter pointed angrily at his son, "are coming along to offer an apology as well."

James stood gaping at his father.

"Move. Now." Mr. Potter commanded.

"I'm coming, too," Mrs. Potter said firmly. When her husband was about to object, she said, "You'll need me for the side-along apparition anyway."

- - - - -

A/N - Well, I decided to post two chapters together due to their short length. Hope that is okey-dokey with everyone.

Thanks again for all the reviews and alert additions. You guys know how to make my day. Thanks! Thanks also to my ever-faithful, wonderful editors (mom and mei mei) and beta (J.A. Carlton - talk about someone who knows how to build suspense. ;) ).

Nonair - Thanks for your wonderfully encouraging comments on the boys. It lets me know I'm still on track with them, so thank you. And welcome back. :D


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Usual

Chapter 35

The Potters and Sirius apparated in the same park from which they left. The road home had never felt so long to Sirius. He had no idea what he was in for when he got home.

They climbed the stairs to the front door and knocked. Mrs. Potter hadn't taken her hand from Sirius' shoulder since they arrived at the park.

When the door swung open, Mrs. Black seemed slightly surprised to be standing face to face with Mr. Potter, but as she surveyed the others, her eyes falling last on her son, her gaze turned icy and Mr. Potter was thankful that the old muggle saying wasn't true and looks couldn't kill.

Mrs. Black stood in the doorway a moment, not moving. Mr. Potter broke the silence, "Mrs. Black…"

Without moving, Mrs. Black said, "Go inform Orion that we have visitors." Sirius saw his mother's robe rustle slightly and figured that Kreacher had been standing behind the door and brushed her robes as he turned to perform his task.

It wasn't until Mr. Black appeared that Mrs. Black stepped aside and motioned for the Potters, and her son, to enter.

"I would like to apologize for being involved in your son's disappearance. Had I known that Sirius did not have permission to leave his home, I would not have taken him with us," Mr. Potter stated. While the apology was genuine, any true remorse he might have felt was frozen away by the reception that all four of them had received. He had been stunned and appalled that Sirius' parents did not seem at all concerned about the welfare of their son. He had been gone a full day. Had they not noticed? Did they not care? Or was their anger so overriding that the fear of losing their child did not show through. Surely they had to have been a little worried.

Mrs. Black continued to silently seethe, but Mr. Black responded, "Yes well, this isn't the first time he's snuck out of the house. It seems to me that we have talked to you before about your son's influence on him…"

"Now see here…" Mr. Potter started.

"No. You see here. You obviously have no control over your son or you would have known the situation from the get go!"

Enraged, the anger in Mr. Potter's voice came through loud and clear, despite the fact that he wasn't yelling. "Excuse me! My son didn't…"

"We have warned you before about interfering in how we raise our son. If you cannot keep your boy under control, we may have to consider other methods of keeping them apart."

"That would be some trick considering they room together at school."

Sirius had not considered that his parents might do something to the Potters when he left. "Dad, it wasn't…"

"Silence!" Mrs. Black said without looking at Sirius. "Can you not remember even the simplest of instructions?"

Mrs. Potter felt Sirius start to tremble slightly under her hand. "Mrs. Black, Sirius was trying to help a friend. The way he went about accomplishing that task may have been questionable, but his intentions showed caring and loyalty for a fellow classmate. He and James succeeded, by the way. They provided the help they could." Mrs. Potter's statement had the entirely opposite effect than she had intended, hence making things worse for Sirius than if she had said nothing.

Casting a scathing gaze on her son, Mrs. Black said, "Loyalty." Her voice had been nearly a whisper, but it could just as easily have been a shout the way it resonated and left a ringing silence behind.

"James," Mr. Potter said, breaking the silence.

"What?" James looked up at his dad.

"You have something to say."

"I… Oh." Shuffling his feet slightly, James said, in a very rehearsed tone, "I am sorry Mr. and Mrs. Black for not telling my parents that Sirius did not have proper permission to leave, and instead for encouraging him to do so." His apology could not have come across less sincere if he tried. Well… he was trying, and it sounded perfect to him.

Mr. Potter glanced at James, communicating, as only fathers can, that he would be dealt with later, and then said, "Sirius."

"No," Sirius whispered.

Under the intense scrutiny of the Blacks, Mr. Potter bent down so he could speak to Sirius and only he would be able to hear. "Sirius, they are your parents. However misguided they might be, they deserve the respect due their position. And you did actually do something wrong this time."

Sirius understood what Mr. Potter was saying. He would be getting in trouble for that which any child would get in trouble. He had done something that was not simply falling short of their unattainable standards or due to a difference of opinion. He also understood from the wording that Mr. Potter was not unsympathetic to his plight. _Who knows, maybe it will even help for once. It can't get any worse_.

Sirius could not have sounded more miserable as he mumbled, "Sorry."

There was a moment of surprise on his parents' faces, which instantly became, if possible, more full of loathing than before at the realization that Mr. Potter had more influence over their son's behavior than they. They watched as Mr. Potter smiled a little and gave Sirius a gentle squeeze on his shoulder.

"We should leave now," Mr. Potter said with apprehension when he saw the fury on the Blacks' faces. He leaned over again, "Let us know if you need anything."

Sirius nodded and watched the Potters go. A sudden coldness settled on him when Mrs. Potter lifted her hand and he felt his safety leave with them.

"Loyalty?" Mrs. Black asked when the Potters had left. "Loyalty? You don't know the first thing about loyalty." Mrs. Black's volume was increasing with each word she spoke. "You bring blood-traitors into this house – for a second time! You claim to stand against EVERYthing we stand for. You have NO concern for your FAMILY. HOW can you POSSIBLY claim to be LOYAL to ANYONE?"

"Just because I don't believe what you do, doesn't mean I'm not loyal to this family!" Sirius rebutted.

"BUT YOU'RE NOT! Would someone loyal leave without saying a word?"

"It's not like you even noticed I wasn't here. You've been ignoring me all summer! What do you care if I'm here or not? Just because I didn't learn to be loyal from you…"

SMACK!

Sirius touched his cheek and then started laughing. "What's the matter, mum? Can't handle the truth?" He was positive he was going to get smacked again. Why they couldn't just go back to ignoring him he didn't know.

In fact, Mrs. Black did raise her hand again, but Mr. Black grabbed her hand before she could swing. "Regulus!" he bellowed.

Regulus appeared so fast it was clear he had been nearby listening.

"Regulus," Mr. Black said calmly. "Regulus, I want you to learn this lesson along with Sirius. Disloyalty to this family will not go unpunished. Sirius claims to be loyal. He will now get a chance to prove it. Remember the punishment doled out every time that Sirius is disloyal to the family – every time he's disloyal to you."

Mr. Black pulled out his wand and muttered a spell that Sirius recognized as the shocking spell Bellatrix had used on him during his first year at school. But as screams of pain filled the hall, Sirius stood rooted to the spot in horror as he watched his brother fall to the floor.

"NO!" both he and Mrs. Black yelled at the same time. With a quick flick of Mr. Black's wand, the spell was lifted.

Sirius ran over to his brother, dropping to his knees and sliding up next to him. Sirius just had time to register that his father moved when Regulus started screaming again.

"STOP IT!" Sirius cried. He put himself between his father and his brother to break the connection. "Regulus!" Sirius reached out for his brother. Initially, Regulus pushed him away, but being weakened he didn't have the strength to fight his older, stronger brother, and Sirius was able to pull him into a hug, rocking them both. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" he whispered, as tears streamed down his face.

He glared at his father, who put his wand away. Mrs. Black, who had stayed where she was out of fear of her husband, half yelled, half growled, and she rushed forward. Her strong, boney grip ripped Sirius from his brother and pushed him away. Then she gathered her youngest into her arms and carried him up the stairs to his room.

"Remember this next time you feel inclined to dishonor the family. Don't dare me to do it again," Mr. Black said calmly. "Room."

Sirius scrambled off the floor and ran to his room, slamming the door behind him.

Later that night, Sirius went to his brother's room. Standing outside because the barrier was still in place, Sirius called to his brother. "Regulus."

"Go away."

"Regulus, please!"

There was a sniffle and Sirius heard a muffled, "I hate you. Go away."

Sirius decided that he would make it up to his brother… somehow. For the next two weeks, he had never been on better behavior. He spoke only when spoken to and at no other time, knowing that whatever he had to say would just cause trouble.

He also ate very little. His nerves were constantly on edge, wondering what would set his parents off and what would be a bad enough offense to bring on punishment.

When, at the end of two weeks, his brother still wasn't speaking to him, Sirius' only hope was that at school, away from his parents' influence, they might be able to patch things up.

Chapter 36

James took his seat across from Remus on the train. He was grinning broadly and his eyes sparkled mischievously.

"So. I talked with my Dad," he began. "He showed me how to do non-verbal magic."

"You're joking!" Remus sat up straighter in his seat, catching James' excitement.

"I still can't always do it. It's going to take a lot of practice. But it's a start."

"Excellent! Wait until the others hear about this."

"Speaking of…" James said, nodding out the window in the direction of the approaching Black family.

Remus frowned. "Did he get into a lot of trouble?"

"Dunno. He wouldn't say."

When the compartment door opened a few minutes later, Remus and James were both surprised to see Peter's face staring back at them.

"What?" Peter asked.

"Nothing, we just… Where's Sirius?" James got up and glanced down the corridor. He was just about to return to his seat when the door to the car slid open, and slammed shut again when an unhappy-looking Sirius entered. It took him a second to realize he was being watched. When he saw James, he smiled, but it was a strained sort of smile.

Once everyone was in the compartment and settled, James said, "What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing," Sirius stated shortly.

Peter said, "You look as bad as Remus, no offense. Glad you could make it, by the way."

"None taken. And me too." Remus answered casually, but he, also, was watching Sirius. "Peter's right. You don't look well."

Sirius sighed. "I've had sort of a stressful two weeks."

Remus glanced at James, then asked, "So did you get in trouble for coming to see me?"

Sirius snorted but didn't answer.

"Well?..." Sirius continued looking out the window, so James prodded him. "What happened? What did they do to you?"

"Nothing. Just drop it."

After thinking about it, James said, "No. You don't get to do that. What did they do?"

"Nothing!" Sirius yelled. "They didn't do _anything_ to _me_."

The compartment was silent for a few seconds. Then Peter asked, "You didn't get punished then?"

"I wouldn't exactly say that," Sirius muttered. He looked at the faces of his friends staring back at him. He realized they really weren't just being nosey, they were concerned. Sirius sighed and hunched forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees. "They didn't do anything to _me_. They punished Regulus instead – with the shock curse Bella used to use. Remember?"

The other boys nodded their remembrance, but they looked horrified at the idea.

"I was told if I did anything else deemed worthy of punishment, it would fall on Regulus again. So… I've been kind of stressed."

"Bugger," Peter whispered, while James said, "Bloody hell."

Thinking as only thirteen-year-old boys can, James said, "Does that include anything that happens at school?"

"Probably."

"Well," Remus smirked, "that just means we can't get caught."

Sirius looked up in surprise at Remus, then started chuckling. As laughter so wonderfully does, it spread and grew and soon they were all laughing until tears fell down their faces. But it did the trick, and the tension that Sirius had worn like a shroud since two weeks ago slipped off his body and dissipated like water through cracks. In fact, all of them were in need of the release after this last summer.

Once they had settled down, James shared his news.

"Non-verbal magic," Sirius said with a far-off look in his eyes. "Imagine the possibilities."

"Slow down there. We still have to learn how to do it. Like I was telling Remus, I've been practicing every day for a week and I still can't do it consistently. This is going to take a while."

Peter groaned. "I'm never going to get it."

"Yes you will," James insisted. "You don't have a choice." James smiled reassuringly, but he wasn't too sure if Peter would get it either, although he had surprised them in the past.

"So our goals for the year," Sirius began, "are: finish mapping Hogwarts…"

"Find more secret passages. Hopefully more that lead off grounds…" Peter added.

"Learn non-verbal magic." Remus ticked off on his fingers each goal.

"Win the Quidditch Cup," James added enthusiastically.

The other Marauder's rolled their eyes.

"… And solemnly swear…" Sirius raised his hand.

The others followed suit, raising their hands and saying in unison, before breaking into more gales of laughter, "That we are up to no good."

A few hours closer to school, Remus asked if anything else had happened over the summer.

"Ugh," Peter huffed. "My mum's getting married."

There was a stunned silence in the compartment before the others started laughing again.

Peter slouched back in his seat and crossed his arms. "It's not funny."

"Sorry Peter," Remus laughed, though, to his credit, he tried to subdue it.

"What do you have against this guy anyway?" Sirius asked, once he'd settled enough to be able to ask. "I mean, he sounds like a good guy. And your mum is happy."

Peter shrugged. He couldn't very well say he was jealous, or that he felt replaced. He somehow thought that would only bring more laughter from the others.

"It's okay, Peter," Remus said sensibly. "Sometimes it just takes a while to adjust to these things. Give it time. Once everything is settled, you may find you like the guy."

"Maybe," Peter mumbled.

"What does he do, anyway?" James asked.

"He's retired. He's an ex-Auror."

"Excellent!" James said sounding slightly awed.

Peter looked at James curiously, trying to decide if he was making fun of him. But seeing the genuineness on James' face, he then wondered why James would be so impressed.

"Imagine the things you could learn from him," Sirius said, sounding equally impressed.

Peter was flustered by the sudden awe the boys were showing him. Well, not him really, but awe by association. It was something he wasn't used to, but thoroughly enjoyed. There might be more to having John in the family than he initially considered. What if he could learn things from John that he could share with the others? How much more valuable would that make him to them? He might have to consider being more friendly to John in the future.

Remus was the only one who didn't seem awed. In fact, he was more uncomfortable about this revelation than impressed. Peter had never once told anyone any of their secrets, especially in relation to Remus being a werewolf. But Aurors were trained to pick up on clues and patterns, and he didn't know how much Peter shared that would inadvertently lead to the discovery of what he was. The others didn't seem to notice his discomfort, and Remus wasn't about to share, but he would be on guard if he ever met John in person.

The train arrived at the Hogsmeade station, and the boys got into the horseless carriages. Sirius had scanned the crowd, keeping an eye out for his brother. He frowned slightly to see that Regulus had already associated himself with Slytherins. It wasn't a surprise, since Narcissa had met them on the train and took Regulus with her, but it was disappointing nonetheless.

The Start of Term Feast began as usual, with the song by the Sorting Hat. As the sorting began, Sirius paid close attention to what was going on and became stock-still when his brother's name was called.

"Black, Regulus," Professor McGonagall announced. A few Gryffindors glanced in Sirius' direction.

The hat paused for just under a minute before announcing, "Slytherin!"

Though Regulus was clearly relieved, he glanced in Sirius' direction to see his brother's reaction. Disappointment was etched on Sirius' face and Regulus felt them slip further apart. Not that he had done much to help their relationship this summer. But he wondered what this would do to them.

The applause, especially from the Slytherins, had created enough noise in the hall that, when Regulus was announced as a Slytherin and Sirius slammed his fist onto the table, nobody but his surrounding Gryffindors noticed. And Andromeda. He was frowning when Regulus glanced over at him, his disappointment clear. Though it was definitely upsetting, he wasn't so much disappointed that his brother had been put in Slytherin, as he was with the fact that it would be very hard to repair the damage he had caused over the summer if they were in different houses.

The rest of the feast passed quickly with good food and catching up with the other Gryffindors as they chatted about their holiday and, for the third-years, looking forward to their new classes. And the usual, possibly magical, sleepiness of the first night back overtook the students as they headed for their dorms, preparing for the start of a new term with a good night of solid rest.

- - - - -

A/N - Another two chapters. :D Hope ya'll don't mind. Thanks again for the reviews and wonderful comments and encouragement. Ya'll rock! Thanks also to my editors (mom and mei mei) and my beta (J.A.Carlton). Lots of love.

Zenna - Thanks for the kind words. And yes, Remus is lucky to have them. They're all lucky, I think, to have each other.

Nonair - Thanks for the wonderful words. I'm glad the incident was believable and Remus/werewolf was in character. It's good to hear that who they were is compatable with who they became - for him as well as the others. Let's me know I'm on track. Thanks. Glad you liked the backstory with the Lupins. Thanks again for the review.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer - Usual.

A/N - Sorry for the delay in posting. Thanks for your patience.

Chapter 37

Breakfast on the first day of class was unusual. The new schedules were passed out and the boys compared class times. This was going to be the first year that they did not have all of their classes together, but by the end of breakfast, they had planned out when they'd meet and where.

"How did I end up being the only one not taking Arithmancy? Better question – Why on earth would you want to take Arithmancy? No. Don't answer. I don't really care." Sirius was still smarting about the situation with his brother and his temper was shorter than usual.

"That's okay. I'm the only one taking Muggle studies." Peter didn't sound happy about this.

"No worries, Pete, I can help you with that," Addison offered.

Peter smiled. "Thanks, Addison. Are you taking Muggle Studies?"

James and Remus chuckled, but Sirius, whose patience was already short, snapped at him, "Peter! He's muggle-born."

Turning pink, Peter muttered, "Oh. I forgot."

Remus patted him on the shoulder as if to say, "It's okay."

The owls arrived right on time and one landed in front of Remus. "I'm getting _The Daily Prophet_, now," he said by way of explanation.

Sirius' eye caught one bird in particular and he watched intently as it landed in front of his brother. Continuing to eat in a nonchalant manner, he watched as his brother opened the letter, smile proudly, and get patted on the back by a few of his new friends. His parents obviously knew that Regulus had been sorted into Slytherin and were quite proud of their dearest son. This did not improve Sirius' mood and he growled to himself before looking away.

His day did not improve when they went to Potions, their first class of the year. Gryffindor still had potions with Slytherin, which meant class with Bulstrode, Avery and Snape. Sirius overheard a few of the Slytherin girls, including Bulstrode, talk about Regulus. They praised his looks and his charm and stated it was obvious he was a "true Black." Sirius was normally pretty good at letting comments roll of his back. He had been trained not to care what others thought and usually found ways to tune them out. But Regulus was a chink in his armor and the fact that they spoke well of his brother didn't make him feel any better. He resolved to talk to his brother as soon as he got the opportunity.

When, by lunch time, Sirius still had not come out of his funk, James suggested they should bring in the new year with a bang. He had managed to get his hands on several dozen fireworks (apparently smuggled from home). The plan was to fly to the tops of seven of the towers and plant a few on each tower, then time the fuses so that they would all go off at the same time. They would have to wait until dark to keep from being seen while flying.

The plan was flawless, and simple, so they had no problems executing it. At ten o'clock in the evening, the sky above Hogwarts filled with lights and the sounds of explosions. Wizard fireworks are designed to last longer than Muggle fireworks, so the show lasted about ten minutes. There were huge, multi-colored explosions. There were large, beautiful, white bursts that fall slowly before fading into the darkness. That one always reminded Remus of a Weeping Willow. There were noisemakers that just exploded loudly, reverberating around the surrounding mountains. The colors and sparkles were magnificently reflected in the calm waters of the lake. The final fireworks to explode were unique. One formed the words "welcome back." Another was a magnificent golden lion's head that roared to show off its brilliantly red tongue. There was a yellow-outlined badger, and a bronze eagle with sapphire-blue eyes.

"Why an eagle?" Peter asked. "Why not a raven?"

"Just watch the show," replied James, giddy with excitement.

And the last firework to explode was, of course, a snake. However, the snake was a very large, hot-pink snake with purple polka dots.

The four Marauders cheered and clapped; Sirius let out a whoop and gave James a one-armed hug that strongly resembled a headlock.

As the four boys turned to go back inside, they noticed that nearly half the school had rushed outside to see the light show. This would have made it easier to blend into the crowd if not for the fact that the four boys still had their brooms. As long as no one looked too closely, they figured they would be fine. However, one person was paying attention.

Snape.

Ever since the scavenger hunt incident, Snape had seemingly made it his life's mission to track the moves of the Marauders and get them into as much trouble as possible. The boys should not have been surprised, then, when they saw him approach on the heels of Professor McGonagall.

"To my office," she said to the Marauders. Turning to Snape, she said, "Thank you, Mr. Snape."

Once they reached her office, she sat behind her desk. "I see you've started early this year." James and Sirius snickered, but her stern look quickly quieted them. "Very well. You will serve detention tomorrow night and I'll be sending the usual letter home to your parents." She pulled out four pieces of parchment and began to write. As an afterthought she added, "I'm beginning to think I should just create a form letter." Returning her attention to the boys, she waved them away, "You may return to the common room."

Peter, Remus and James turned to go, but Sirius stood before her desk.

"Excuse me," Sirius said tentatively. "Professor."

Professor McGonagall looked surprised that Sirius was still standing in front of her desk. "Yes?"

"Is there any way you could not send a letter home? I… I'd be willing to do extra detention or… something."

Professor McGonagall frowned. If she didn't know better, she would say that Sirius was afraid. "I'm sorry but that's school policy."

"But you can't tell them! My parents," Sirius pleaded.

"Well, perhaps you should have thought of that before pulling this stunt." She was a little unnerved by Sirius' behavior, so after a moment of carefully observing him she said, "Gentlemen, will you excuse us? And close the door on your way out."

Once the other three had left the room, Professor McGonagall walked around her desk and leaned against it in front of Sirius. "Is there a problem, Sirius? Something you want to talk about?"

Sirius appeared to be frozen as he thought about what to do and say. "No, Professor. I just… They can't know."

"And why not? As I said, this is typical school policy… Are you… in danger? If your parents find out?" Even though she had asked the question, she never expected an affirmative answer. Sure, as a professor, she had seen kids from all types of backgrounds, some of them very appalling. She could even guess at several current students who might come from abusive backgrounds. The hard part was that, with magic, it very seldom ever showed and was very hard to prove. And Sirius was such an outgoing, lively personality that she had never considered that his parents were more than just strict.

"No." Sirius was terrified. He would never have admitted a problem if the punishment only fell on him. But with Regulus thrown into the mix… He had to protect his brother.

"Well, then I'm afraid I see no reason…"

"… Not me," Sirius whispered.

"What?" McGonagall was thrown by his answer. "If not you then wh…" She stopped mid-word, stunned by the possibility of what Sirius might be implying. "Regulus?"

Sirius didn't say anything, but the fact that he didn't deny it either was enough of an answer.

"Sirius," McGonagall urged, "if you tell me what's going on, I can help you."

Sirius took a step back toward the door. "I can't. Are you going to send the letter?"

She was losing him. She could see him preparing to fly. "Unless you can give me a reason - something I can take to the headmaster – I'm afraid my hands are tied."

Sirius nodded slowly. "Can I go then, Professor?"

She stared hard at Sirius, trying to will him to cooperate, but he simply stared back at her. With a sigh, she resigned herself to having lost this battle, but she would be heading straight to the headmaster despite not having anything concrete. Dumbledore was known to not always work within the usual confines of bureaucracy. "Yes, Sirius. You're free to go."

Sirius started to run once he left the office, but was quickly spun around by James. He hadn't seen his friends waiting for him outside the door.

James was rather disconcerted by the deer-in-the-headlights look that Sirius was wearing. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Would you stop saying that? What happened?"

"Nothing! Nothing happened and my parents are going to find out and…and…" Sirius dropped his head.

"Regulus," Remus whispered.

Sirius nodded.

"I'm so sorry, Sirius. I didn't even think about what would happen if we got caught," James apologized.

Sirius lifted his head. His eyes were watery. "It's not your fault. It was stupid. I was… just… stupid."

James put his arm around his friend, comfortingly. "Come on. There's nothing we can do about it tonight."

Back in the dormitory, the boys went to bed but, shortly after lights out, Sirius crawled out of bed and sat at the window, staring out into the night. James heard him get up, and watched for a few minutes as Sirius just sat there, looking so unnaturally still. James got out of bed and sat next to Sirius.

They sat in silence for a while and just as James was going to go back to bed, Sirius started talking. He told James funny stories about him and Regulus while they were growing up. James didn't have any siblings, so hearing Sirius talk about his made him think, for the first time, that he might have missed out on something growing up. They laughed quietly, snorting occasionally, as Sirius shared his past. James realized, after a while, that Sirius rarely mentioned his parents in the stories, and never in a positive way. As abruptly as Sirius started talking, he stopped.

A few more minutes passed before Sirius spoke again. Staring out into the sky, he said, "He hates me now. I was hoping to make things up to him when we got here. I don't think that's going to happen now." And once again James was left speechless by something he couldn't fathom but wished he could change. So they sat in silence a while longer.

James fell asleep with his head resting on the window, mouth hanging open, glasses askew.

When Remus stirred in the morning, Sirius looked over at him from his perch on the window. He carefully slid off the window sill, making sure not to disturb the sleeping James. He crept over to Remus and whispered, "Do you have a camera?"

Sirius looked terribly tired, but Remus was glad to see the mischievous smile and playful look dancing in his eyes. Remus shook his head, but pointed at Addison. The two boys stole over to Addison's bed and nudged him. He awoke with a start and sat straight up, but didn't make a noise.

"What?" he asked groggily.

"Can we borrow your camera?" Sirius asked and pointed at James.

Addison grinned and went to his trunk. He dug through it as quietly as he could before pulling out the camera and handing it to Sirius. "Use the flash."

Sirius tiptoed back over to James, took aim and… FLASH!

"AH!" James' head jerked forward. The bright light had penetrated his closed eyelids and startled him awake. Adding to his disorientation was the sudden sound of much laughter. He quickly wiped the drool from his face, and looked around. His hair was flattened on the side where his head had been leaning against the window, and it stood straight up in places. Sirius quickly flashed another picture, not wanting to miss this priceless opportunity.

By now, though, James had come fully awake and he lunged at Sirius. Sirius, not as quick as James, couldn't move out of the way in time, so he turned his back to James and held the camera out front. Since Sirius was taller, it kept the camera out of James' reach. An impromptu game of keep-away ensued and ended in a dogpile – the camera safely about a meter away.

There was a grunt and a muffled "Can't breathe!" from Addison, and the others rolled off, all the boys still laughing.

As they lay on the floor catching their breath, Peter yawned loudly and sat up in his bed. He looked confusedly at the others. "What did I miss?"

"Abject humiliation," Sirius supplied with a grin.

"Ha! Just wait until I catch you off guard."

"I'm never off guard," Sirius announced confidently. "Besides, even if you would happen to catch me unaware, I'm so damn good-looking, it wouldn't matter."

"And on that note," Remus said, getting up from the floor. "We best get to breakfast before Sirius' delirium becomes permanent." He helped Sirius off the floor, then pushed him to the bathroom to encourage him to get ready for the day. "Come on. Food."

The boys made their way down to breakfast and began eating. Shortly after, the owls arrived and Sirius' attention was once again caught by the familiar family bird. It was carrying two letters this time. It swooped past Sirius, dropping one letter, then continued on to Regulus and dropped the other.

Sirius opened his letter apprehensively. All it said inside was "one." He looked over at his brother, who was still reading his letter, frowning.

His expression unchanged, Regulus got up, marched over to Sirius, and flung his letter at him. "Thanks a lot, big brother." He immediately turned and walked back to the Slytherin table, where Regulus' new friends were all glaring at him.

He picked up the letter and read it.

_My Dear Son,_

_I regret to inform you that this coming holiday will be a difficult one. Ask your brother why._

_Sincerely,_

_Father_

"Well, I have until the holidays to figure this out," Sirius said mournfully to James.

- - - - -

A/N - Thanks again for the reviews. I know it's the same words every time, but I really am thankful. And thanks for the honesty, too. I appreciate that as well. Thanks also to my editors - Mom and mei mei - and my beloved beta - J.A.Carlton (she's begun a new SN story - go check it out). Much love.

Nonair - Once again, thank you for the kind words and encouragement. I'm glad to see Peter is turning out to be... not a flat character, but believable and dynamic. Thanks for that. And I'm glad the other characters are on course for becoming who the became later. Thanks for letting me know that.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer - Usual. Thanks, Rowlings, for the inspiration.

Chapter 38

As it turned out, Sirius wasn't the only one having a rough start to the new school year. The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was new this year… again. The boys thought this odd, considering how long most of the other professors had been at the school. Even their first year, the DADA professor had retired after having been there for nearly twenty years.

"I heard a rumor that they think the position is cursed," Peter said conspiratorially.

"That's ridiculous," Sirius commented. "How would you curse a position?"

The new professor, Professor Odium, carried himself with a grace and casualness that belied his sharp senses and quick reflexes. The students soon learned that his charming outer appearance was a well placed mask for something much more sinister. After a week on the job, even the Slytherins hated him.

If anyone passed a note in class, it was confiscated, enlarged and placed on the chalkboard for all to read. If a student was caught whispering, he temporarily sealed the student's mouth shut. Participation was required, and if a student didn't know the answer to a question, the student had to do lines. Being late or unprepared by the start of class was punished by having to stand before the class and apologize for disrupting the class and wasting precious time. If any of these offenses were repeated by said student, it was an automatic detention.

By the second week, so many stories had circulated about the professor, many of them becoming increasingly exaggerated, that Peter broke out into a nervous sweat just walking to the class. But one student in particular was singled out by the professor.

Remus. It was obvious that the professor knew Remus was a werewolf. All of the teachers had been told, so as to give him specially leniency for the days he missed. When Remus approached him during the first week of school to let him know he would be gone during the next class and could he please have his assignments, Professor Odium stared at him for a moment.

"You're very well trained," he said simply, then handed him a piece of paper with the next class assignment.

"Thank you, Professor." Remus wasn't sure if the professor meant the comment the way it sounded, or if he thought of all kids as needing training, so he put it out of his mind.

While Remus was in the hospital wing doing his classwork, the others came to visit him.

"What are you working on?" James asked.

"Our Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment."

"Well that's not what we covered." Remus frowned. "Here…" James got out his work and showed Remus what they went over.

The next class, he approached Professor Odium to turn in the assignment.

Without looking at the work, Odium said, "Oh, I'm sorry. There was a last minute change and we did not cover what I had initially planned on covering. But class policy dictates a detention for missed work."

"But Professor, I know about the changed assignment. I completed that one instead," Remus pointed out.

"Ah," Professor Odium scanned the scroll. Then said, "So you decided it was okay not to do what I specifically laid out for you to do."

Remus looked confused. "No, sir. I did the assignment…"

"But not the one I gave you. Detention, Mr. Lupin, for disrespecting a professor, and one for not completing the proper assignment. Plus no marks."

"But, I…"

"Ten points for talking back. Feel free to continue. Otherwise, I'll see you in my office tomorrow night. That shouldn't be a problem for your schedule."

"No sir. I mean, yes sir." Remus was flustered. Part of him hoped this was all a misunderstanding, but part of him felt this might be the beginning of a very long year.

Sirius, James and Peter watched the interaction, along with the rest of the class. Some whispering broke out, but was quickly stifled when Professor Odium reached the front of the class.

"For the next two weeks, class, we will be covering… werewolves."

Remus had dreaded this day. But the fact that this professor was the one teaching the subject, left him with a sense of foreboding.

At the beginning of the second week on the study of werewolves, Professor Odium said, "Now that you all know the distinctions between a real wolf, and the half-breed werewolf, we will cover social issues. I am going to split the class into two groups. One group will be responsible for researching why werewolves need to be…" he cleared his throat as if he couldn't get the word out, "accepted. The other half will argue for tighter restrictions, if not extermination. I will give you until next class to complete the assignment. That way you can go to the library to do research." Sirius and Remus were in the half of the class that had to fight for tighter restrictions and/or extermination, while James and Peter were in the other half.

"I can't do this," Remus moaned. "I can't remain objective about this."

"Tell Professor McGonagall," James suggested.

"Tell her what? That I object to a teacher's assignment?"

"No. Tell her that he's intentionally discriminating against you and otherwise making your life miserable."

"Right. Like that's going to work. Besides, he's not the first and he won't be the last. I can't very well have Professor McGonagall with me the rest of my life."

Sirius snickered, "Though, that would be kind of funny. So what are we going to do about it?"

"We?" Remus asked.

"Yup. I figure, if he's going to make your life, and the lives of every other student at this school, miserable, we should return the favor."

"_You're_ not going to do anything" James stated firmly.

"As long as I don't get caught, everything will be fine. Look, I'm going crazy… no pranking, no exploring, no learning… With Professor Odium's charming personality, I might as well be at home."

"No." Remus agreed with James. "You can't risk it." Sirius sat back in his chair with a huff. Remus smiled mischievously. "But, nobody can stop you from having ideas."

Sirius grinned back. "Fantastic!"

"Do you really think it's a good idea to target a teacher?" Peter asked nervously.

Sirius and James both looked over at him and said in unison, "Yes!"

The boys had to meet their respective groups in the library that evening. It was very uncomfortable for Sirius and Remus, who spent much of their time in silence. Sirius loved to debate, and he could think of tons of reasons for tighter control measures and even extermination. He had, after all, grown up hearing similar arguments for the control and extermination of half-bloods and muggle-borns. But he was not going to help hang his friend. Remus used illness as an excuse for not getting into the assignment. He really wasn't lying, either. The whole topic made him ill. His group, which included Patty, Leena, and Addison had been counting on him to do a lot of the research. It was well known that Remus was an excellent student and loved books. Fortunately, Gryffindors stick together, and none of them wanted to see Remus get in more trouble with the professor, so they let his lack of enthusiastic participation slide, though he did point them in the direction of certain volumes of work on the subject. He had become well acquainted with many of the texts rather young in life, wanting to have some idea of what he would face in the future. What made him really cringe was that, as often happens with groups of people feeding off of similar stores of information, a group-think started to take over and it seemed they actually believed what they were researching.

Sirius noticed the change of atmosphere, too. As the information was gathered and the arguments were being organized, Sirius offered to play devil's advocate to try to counter what was being said. Remus was impressed with his ability to argue logically and yet with heart. He was such a charismatic speaker that, by the end of the evening, all the research was done and organized, but few believed the side they were presenting. Remus would be eternally grateful to Sirius for that.

James' group, which included Lily, Gillette, and Stacey, had a different struggle. It was a lot harder to find factual information that put lycanthropy in a positive light, so the main crux of the argument was that it was only one night a lunar cycle, and the rest of the time the person was fully human. The idea that humans could be exterminated for things beyond their control, for sicknesses that weren't their fault in the first place opened up doors to much wider 'protective' and 'corrective' measures and who was the judge of how far these things could be taken. James was surprised and impressed that his greatest ally in this argument was Lily. She felt very passionately about the topic and argued in an intelligent, moving way.

The debate took place and the group who argued for the stronger controls was declared the clear winner by Professor Odium. Remus was not at all surprised by this, but he appreciated his friends, and all that they had done and said.

The first prank was set for the class after the debate. It was something very small and innocuous. Peter, who was the best doodler among the four, drew a picture of Professor Odium turning into a werewolf. Not a real werewolf of the kind that are hard to distinguish from real wolves, but the fictional two legged kind. He had claws, dog ears, fur and a rather large snout. Then, during class, James, who was still the only one able to do non-verbal magic, due mostly to the fact that they hadn't yet had opportunity to practice, made the note flutter around the room until the Professor noticed it.

Then, as usual, he enlarged the note and was about to hang it when he saw what the picture was. Furious he whipped around to face the class. "Who drew this?" he demanded holding up the note. It was still enlarged, so all of the students in the class were able to see the picture. "Who drew this?" he yelled again.

Peter sat nervously at the back of the class. He, however, was always nervous during this class, so Professor Odium didn't take this as a sign of guilt.

Unable to determine the source of the drawing, the Professor had no choice but to do nothing. The news quickly spread throughout the school, however, and soon students howled whenever the professor walked by, causing a rather comical scene of Odium spinning wildly and bug-eyed, trying to find the culprit.

After about of week of this, the boys decided it was time for the next idea. They enchanted all the chalk in the room to roll away from the professor if he tried to pick it up, and squeal at his approach. This was so effective that all the Professor had to do was walk past the chalkboard and the chalk would start squealing. Odium was so infuriated by the end of class that he blasted all his pieces of chalk to dust. The next day, written on the chalkboard with permanent white paint was, "White chalk: 0; Professor: 1."

The next day, there was a large battle plan taking up the entire replacement chalkboard. It detailed how the new chalk was going to trap and defeat Odium in his office. White chalk was found "hiding" behind books, on torches and at various other key battle locations.

After this event, other students began to join in the revenge. The Professor opened his office door one morning to find chalk lined in formation out in the corridor. Pieces of chalk hit him at least once a day, with students commenting "beware the chalk" as they walked by.

He finally put security measures on his classroom and office to prevent any more break-ins.

With the success of these endeavors, the Marauders were back. They started practicing magic again at night so they could all learn how to do non-verbal spells. While they saw this not only as great fun, they figured it was also for a good cause and worth the risk. Eventually, they even started pranking other students again. They all agreed they still owed Snivellus for getting them in trouble at the beginning of the year.

But once October came, something else grabbed their attention. This was their third year at Hogwarts and the first year they would be allowed to go to Hogsmeade for visits. Sirius didn't know if his parents had signed the consent form and said he would talk to McGonagall to find out. She confirmed that they had, much to his relief, though he wondered why. _Appearance, most like. Have to keep up appearances_.

The closer the weekend came, the more chatter there was among the third-years. They asked the older students what some of the best places to visit were. One of the older students, Elizabeth, mentioned The Shrieking Shack. "It's said to be terribly haunted with violent ghosts."

"Violent ghosts?" James asked. "None of our ghosts are violent."

"Well, some ghosts are," she said matter-of-factly. "The villagers swear they hear howling and banging at night. Funny thing, my parents don't really remember the rumors about the shack from when they were in school, but even Dumbledore has said that people should remain clear of the old haunted building."

"Wouldn't it be great to get inside?" Sirius asked grinning.

"Can't," Elizabeth said. "Nobody's been able to get in it yet. Besides, it's too dangerous. Looks like it could fall down at any moment – not to mention the ghosts."

So naturally, on the day of the Hogsmeade visit, the Shrieking Shack was one of the first places the boys went to visit.

Remus looked at the shack critically. There was something about it…

"Let's get closer," Sirius said in an excited whisper.

The Marauder's glanced around, to see if anyone was watching, then they climbed the rickety fence surrounding the shack. The entire shack seemed to sway with a non-existent breeze. Sirius climbed the steps gingerly, then nodded at James, who followed. Peter hung back nervously. Remus still couldn't shake the odd feeling that he knew this place.

James tried the front door, but it didn't budge. They checked the windows, which were boarded.

"Magical barrier," Sirius observed in a curious voice.

Remus approached and looked through one of the many minuscule cracks in the house, then stepped back suddenly. James and Sirius glanced at him and noticing his face had paled, rushed over to him.

"What?" James asked. "Did you see something?"

"No. Well yes, but… I mean, no."

"Speak English, boy," Sirius said in a joking tone.

"This…" Remus pointed to the house. "This is my shack." He looked meaningfully at the others. "This is where I go every month… to transform."

"Well, that would explain all the magic," Sirius said nonchalantly and James nodded.

Remus was still amazed at the casualness with which the others took his condition.

"Oh," James said, remembering something important. "Remember what Elizabeth said about her parents not remembering the rumors… about the shack? It's not really haunted."

"It's me."

Sirius clapped Remus on the shoulder and laughed. "Excellent! You're the cause of the most haunted shack in England. The man behind the rumor."

Knowing the secret behind the shack, while amusing to the Marauders, was somewhat disenchanting, so the boys decided to explore the rest of the village. As they turned to leave, Snape, Avery and Bulstrode were coming up the path from the village.

"Looking at your future home, Black? – You know, when your parents finally disown you?" Snape drawled.

"No. Looking for your mum, actually," Sirius smirked at him.

"Oh, very funny. Did you come up with that on your own?"

"So Snivellus," James joined in. "How do you like being on the Quidditch team this year? Oh wait… you didn't make the team… _again_."

"Well, not all of us can be mindless imbeciles that play with sticks."

"You mean like you and your wand? How do you keep hold of it with all that grease?" Sirius asked.

"I do well enough to show your brother a thing or two," Snape sneered.

Sirius took his wand out, though he kept it at his side. He stepped forward and growled, "Stay away from Regulus!"

James put a restraining hand on Sirius.

"Or what? You do anything to me, and I'll tell a professor. Unless you want to hurt your brother…"

Sirius raised his wand, but James pushed him back, "No." Then he whispered, "Allow me." James swung around and cast the jelly-legs jinx on Snape.

Snape, however, was expecting the fight, so he blocked the jinx and then countered with "_Levicorpus_."

James was suddenly hanging in the air by his ankles. The Slytherins were laughing up a storm, unfortunately for them, because the laughter distracted them. James still had his wand. "_Expelliarmus_!" He had enough force behind his spell to knock Snape off his feet and break his spell, dropping James to the ground.

In the mean time, both Sirius and Remus yelled, "_Petrificus Totalus_," causing Avery and Bulstrode to go rigid and fall to the ground. Peter cast the twitchy ears hex – a simple spell, but incredibly effective under the circumstances. Both Avery's and Bulstrode's ears started itching uncontrollably, but their bodies were frozen. Muffled screams could be heard from both.

Snape was just getting to his feet when James said, "What was that, Snivellus? _Levicorpus_?" And with a flick of his wand, James turned Snape's spell against him, dangling him by his ankles.

Sirius then cast, "_Silencio_. What's that Snivellus? Can't quite hear you."

James then said, "_Incarcerous_," before dropping the now-harmless Snape to the ground. "Hmm… What do you think? Monroe?"

Sirius smiled. "Sure." He wasn't really sure who or what Monroe was, but he was curious to find out. Snape's hair became long and blond, with a slight wave, curling under at the ends.

"We should be going," Remus said, looking at the boys guiltily. "Before the spells wear off."

As they walked away, Sirius congratulated Peter, "Nice touch, Peter."

"Thanks," he replied with a smile.

The Marauders headed into town to explore the rest of Hogsmeade, leaving their victims lying on the ground to fend for themselves. Sirius wondered if Snape would find a way to get them in trouble, or if he would be too embarrassed to say anything. He tried not to worry as he thought, _They started it. We just finished it_.

After a few minutes of walking, James said, "Do you think he invented that spell? I mean, we know he's not an idiot."

"I don't know. I've never heard it before." Sirius had wondered the same thing, and Remus and Peter confirmed that they had not heard of it either. It wasn't unheard of for students to be able to create their own spells. They had done some tinkering themselves. And James was right, Snape wasn't an idiot. "But that was a pretty powerful spell… if he did…" The sentence hung in the air. Their next few years with Snivellus could get interesting if he was going to start creating spells.

The four boys entered Dervish & Banges. Sirius nudged James when he noticed Evans and Gillette examining some of the store's wares. Remus had wandered off to look around, but Peter was still standing nearby.

"Peter, stay," Sirius ordered.

Peter crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, but he stayed as ordered.

Lily and Gillette were standing by a large shelf that had potion-making tools and books. James and Sirius approached the two girls and acted very interested in what they were looking at.

"This says, 'Sharpest blade, magically enhanced. No other knife will cut as fine,'" Lily read the description.

"I don't care. I just want to pass the class." Gillette did not have the knack or patience for potions that her friend had.

James joined in the conversation. "How fine is fine?" he asked innocently causing Lily and Gillette to jump.

Sirius smiled roguishly and motioned to Gillette for her to follow him. Taking her hand, he led her quietly away from James and Lily.

"So…" James cast about awkwardly for something to say.

"What do you want, Potter?" Lily said.

"Have you eaten, yet? We're going to head over to the Three Broomsticks for a bite to eat and some butterbeer. Want to join us?"

Lily glanced around noticing, it seemed, for the first time that it was just the two of them. "'We' as in 'The Marauders'?" she asked rather lamely. She also was trying to bide time until she could locate Gillette.

"Yup… Unless, you want…"

"No! Um. No, thank you. Gillette and I have plans already. We're meeting some of the other girls for lunch."

"Well great! We can all go together."

In the mean time, Sirius had taken Gillette over to where Peter was standing. Then he and Peter snuck up to a display so they could peer through it and see how things were going for James.

"They seem to be getting along," Peter noted.

"Don't tell me you dragged me over here to get James and Lily alone?" Gillette asked frustratedly, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Shhh," Sirius hushed her without thinking. He had temporarily forgotten that he had dragged Gillette away. "Sorry. I… maybe," Sirius said sheepishly.

Gillette walked up and inserted herself between Sirius and Peter so that their shoulders were touching, then peered through the display as well. "It'll never work."

"Why?" Sirius asked.

"Lily thinks James is a git. Though… between you and me," Gillette looked at Sirius and winked, "I think it's an act."

"Really? Why do you say that?" his mind was only half on the topic, as he suddenly realized how close Gillette was to him.

"Because for someone she supposedly hates, she talks about James an awful lot."

"Huh," Sirius intoned and turned his attention back to his friend. Lily seemed to be getting frustrated and when her eyes weren't irritatedly boring into James, they were darting around the store, looking for Gillette.

Gillette nudged Sirius' shoulder with her own. "Come on. Let's go rescue our friends from embarrassment." She linked her arm around Sirius' and led them away, Peter tagging along behind.

As they approached, they could hear the agitated conversation between Lily and James.

"You just think you're so wonderful, Potter," Lily stated, sounding disgusted.

"Yes, Evans… But why don't you?" James' voice had a teasing tone, but Sirius noted the rigidness of his stance.

"Why?" Lily laughed. "You're conceited for one."

"Confident," James interrupted.

"Arrogant."

"Knowledgeable."

"Cocky."

"Talented… But really, stop now, you're making me blush," James smiled cheekily.

"You… I…" Lily stammered. "Gillette!" Lily said with relief. She had just spotted Gillette walking toward her and was looking for a rescue.

Sirius and Gillette glanced at each other. Sirius said under his breath, "Or rescue the store from destruction."

Gillette laughed, her eyes sparkling with merriment.

Lily rushed forward and grabbed Gillette's arm. "Wha-? Hey!" Gillette said in an annoyed tone, but she let herself be dragged away. She turned back and, smiling, waved to Sirius as she left.

He watched her go and gave a small wave back, then turned to his friend. "So what happened this time?"

"You know… I don't think she likes me," James tone remained light and playful, but he watched Lily leave with a frown on his brow.

Sirius threw an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Come on. Let's go find Remus. I'm starving."

"Me, too," Peter chimed in. He watched the whole scene unfold with a tinge of envy. Even if what Gillette said wasn't true, Peter heard the whispers and knew that there were plenty of girls that wanted to date James. Gillette was also one of many who wanted to date Sirius. It seemed that something had happened over the summer, making this dating thing much more real and relevant. James was obviously interested in Lily. From the way Sirius watched Gillette, Peter guessed he was interested in her, though to what extent he wasn't sure. While James only had eyes for Lily, Sirius tended to watch a lot of girls. And Remus didn't know it, but he had even caught the attention of some of the female populace, not that Remus would act on that knowledge. Peter was worried. He wondered if the introduction of girls into the mix would have the same effect that John had at home, slowly pushing a wedge between the boys. It was fine for the others, who had many friends, and would be the ones with girlfriends, but he really didn't have anyone else and he began to feel lonely in addition to envious.

"No luck?" Remus asked when he saw the others approaching.

"I'm just wearing her down. Biding my time," James answered.

Remus smirked, but didn't say anything. He figured it wasn't nice to kick a man when he was down. He'd leave that to Sirius.

The Marauders headed over to The Three Broomsticks to have a bite to eat. As it turned out, Lily hadn't been lying. She was sitting at a table with Gillette and a few other girls from their year. All of the girls huddled when they noticed the boys come in.

"Why do they do that?" James asked.

"To make you paranoid," Sirius said simply, earning a snort from Remus.

The boys took a seat at one of the tables.

After eating, James declared, "Next stop – Zonko's Joke Shop!" They spent the rest of the afternoon bugging the girls, exploring the village, buying "supplies," and otherwise causing mischief.

- - - - -

A/N Thanks again for the reviews. I'm excited to hear ya'll are still enjoying the story. Thank you. Thanks also to my beloved editors, mom and mei mei, and beta, J.A. Carlton. Love ya.

Nonair - Thanks again for the wonderful words of encouragement and for letting me know what you think. Glad to hear that you like McGonagall. And the tightrope poor Sirius is having to walk right now. Thank you.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer - Usual.

Chapter 39

That evening, as the Marauders came back from Hogsmeade, they waited nervously, wondering if Snivellus and his gang had gotten them in trouble. Their worry wasn't in vane as, just after supper, Professor McGonagall called to the boys and told them to follow her.

It was very difficult to read Professor McGonagall's expression when they arrived at her office. Upon entering, the boys noticed that Snape, Avery and Bulstrode were present. "I have been informed that you attacked these boys and girl," she said nodding in the direction of the Slytherins.

A sudden cacophony of noise erupted when all four Marauders started to protest and drew the Slytherins into an argument.

"Silence!" McGonagall said, barely raising her voice, but it was enough to shut everyone up. "Mr. Potter, you first."

"They attacked us!"

"Sirius pulled his wand out first," Snape said coolly.

"Is this true?" the Professor asked.

Sirius and James exchanged looks. "Yes, but…" Sirius started

Holding up her hand for silence, Professor McGonagall said, "So it was Sirius who cast the first spell?"

"No, Professor. That was James," Snape answered again. James shot daggers at him.

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow, "Is that true?"

"Yes, but…" James began with as little effect as Sirius.

"You may be excused," McGonagall indicated to the Slytherins.

Snape leered at James and Sirius as he headed out the door, though Remus noticed the other two didn't look quite as happy about what had transpired.

Once the Slytherins were sure to be out of earshot range, Professor McGonagall turned her gaze back to the boys. "I am severely disappointed with the display of behavior today."

"But Professor," James tried again. "They goaded us on – Sirius in particular."

"That is unacceptable. You can't just pick fights with people for trying your patience. You need to learn self-control. You have lost the privilege of going to Hogsmeade the next time there is a visit." A small amount of grumbling bubbled forth from this decree.

"And a letter home?" Sirius asked.

Professor McGonagall looked hard at Sirius for a few seconds. "Yes, Mr. Black. And a letter home."

The next morning at breakfast, when the owls arrived, as expected, Sirius received a letter that simply said, "Two." He glanced at his brother who had also received a letter. Regulus glared at him, but didn't bother getting up this time. With little satisfaction, Sirius noticed that Snivellus was more engrossed in a book than usual and other Slytherins sent occasional angry glances in his direction. He was glad to know that his brother had inspired some loyalty among the Slytherins, who were apparently unhappy that Snape had inadvertently gotten Regulus in trouble, too, though he doubted they knew the extent of that trouble.

After Quidditch practice Monday night, James noted Sirius on the back row of the stands. That in itself wasn't unusual, as he maintained his tradition of accompanying James to practice; it was his stillness that bothered James. Sirius was a ball of energy; like a puppy, he was constantly moving – and getting into trouble. James suspected that movement helped distract Sirius, so it was always worrying when he saw his friend sit very still for any length of time. He floated over to the stands and dismounted next to him, but instead of getting up to leave the pitch, Sirius remained seated. James took a seat next to him.

"I think I have a plan," Sirius began. He waited until James was settled in and listening before continuing.

It took James a minute to realize what Sirius was talking about. "Regulus."

Sirius nodded. He then proceeded to outline his plan. He was not excited about it, as he normally would be when detailing a prank or what part of the castle they should explore. Instead he was very sullen.

James listened with a frown, wondering at the way his friend's mind worked. It was disturbing to him that Sirius would even need to come up with such a plan, but it was equally disturbing that he had.

When Sirius was finished, he asked, "Will it work?" There was a pleading look in his eyes and James didn't know what to say.

"I don't know. It sounds… solid."

"It can't be 'solid,' James. It has to work." He sat back in his seat and rested his head against the rail behind the last seat. "I'm going to lose him no matter what. At least this way he'll be safe… It's going to work." Sirius suddenly got to his feet, and the two of them headed back to the common room.

When they arrived, Sirius rubbed his hands together and said with a grin, "So… who's up for some mischief making?"

Remus looked up at him in surprise. "What about…"

"Nope. All taken care of."

"Really?" Remus said skeptically.

"Yup," Sirius replied.

"All right!" Peter answered enthusiastically.

Remus turned his gaze to James, who was still frowning slightly. "Later," James mouthed to Remus.

"So, I think it's time Odium moves past 'The Chalk Incident,'" Sirius' eyes glinted. He didn't have to like his own plan, but all the more reason to try to get as much fun out of it as possible.

The next day the boys set to work on a new prank.

Sirius showed up at class just as Professor Odium was closing the door. He was running full speed and, unable to stop in time, collided into the professor, who was none to happy. Had the door not been behind Odium, both he and Sirius would have fallen to the floor.

During the summer that Sirius had spent with his grandfather, the man had taken him to see an illusionist performing what muggles thought of as magic, but was really only slight of hand. Sirius learned that, with a little redirection, a person could get away with a lot. Colliding into Odium gave him a chance to plant some coins in his pocket.

He earned a detention for his disruption but that had been expected. Upon sitting down, he nodded to James. James reached down, pretending to get something from his bag. Instead, he released the niffler that had been hidden under his invisibility cloak. Chaos ensued. The niffler found many of the sparkly dark detectors and objects in the classroom appealing. And when it caught wind of the money on Professor Odium, it attacked – well, as much as a niffler can attack. Being excellent diggers and burrowers, it climbed and pawed its way up and into Odium's robes searching, scratching, and occasionally frustratedly biting until it found what it was looking for. The whole time, Professor Odium was squealing and yelping and dancing around awkwardly trying to grab the elusive beast, losing all semblance of calm control.

The class laughed at the sight of the teacher twisting and squirming and screaming.

When it was all over, Odium's eyes were bulging in rage and sweat was pouring down his face. "You!" he squinted and pointed at Sirius.

Sirius smiled innocently at the insane-looking teacher. "Sir?"

"You did this. You planted the money."

Sirius coughed and it sounded amazingly like "crazy."

"What did you say?" The class was watching in intense anticipation.

"Nothing, sir. Sorry just had something caught…" and Sirius pointed to his throat.

Remus exchanged a worried glance with James. Why was Sirius goading him on? Did this have something to do with Regulus?

James also looked worried, but did not step in to prevent his friend from doing anything.

"Another detention." The professor still looked wildly disheveled.

Sirius chuckled impetuously, "Why?"

"For cheek."

Sirius didn't say anything else, but Odium glared at him for a moment. He could have sworn the kid looked satisfied.

The next morning, as expected, the letters arrived from Sirius' parents. As if to make a point, they sent two separate letters – one saying "three" and the other "four."

Sirius glanced up at his brother and saw the look of fury on his face. He left the Great Hall and headed out onto the grounds.

James watched his friend leave and felt a nudge. He looked at Remus, who nodded in the direction of the Slytherin table. Regulus and several other Slytherins, including older students – about five total – followed Sirius out. The Marauders immediately left to make sure Sirius was not alone when he was confronted.

Sirius had just stepped onto the grass when he heard Regulus call his name. He braced himself as best he could, steeling his emotions for what was to come.

"Oi, Sirius!" Regulus called a second time before Sirius finally turned around to face him. Holding up the letters he had received from home, he said, "What are you playing at?"

"Nothing," Sirius answered.

"'Nothing'? Do you not care at all?"

"Odium is an arse. And he picks on Remus. We were just getting a little payback."

Regulus stepped within arms' reach of his brother and threw the letters at him. "Remus? One of your so-called friends?"

"He is a friend!" Sirius replied. "At least he doesn't like me because of my name."

Regulus threw a punch at his brother, who did nothing to block him. "Don't talk about my friends that way. They are better to me than you've been."

Sirius flinched. That had hurt far more than the punch. He kept telling himself it would work in the end. And maybe one day Regulus would understand. "Yeah, 'cause you've been such a great brother."

"'Brother.' Like you would know. They're more my brothers than you are. You claim to be my brother but you're always choosing your friends over me. I…"

"Say it," Sirius goaded, then yelled, "Say it!"

Regulus yelled, "I hate you!" and pushed Sirius with everything he had.

Sometime during the argument, The Marauders had slipped up behind their friend to stand with him. Had they not been there, the push would have knocked him to the ground. As it was, James and Remus were each able to grab an arm to keep him from falling.

"Satisfied?" Regulus yelled. He had started crying.

"Regulus…"

"No! You prefer them to me. Fine! We're not brothers anymore. Just leave me alone."

Sirius watched in silence as the group of Slytherins walked away, just as two professors exited the castle. Seeing the crowd disperse, they went back inside.

James put a hand on Sirius' shoulder.

"Why?" Remus asked quietly.

Sirius glanced at him before answering. "Because if he hates me… if they think I hate him, they won't hurt him."

This event served as a catalyst for change. The changes weren't huge, and most people didn't even notice. Regulus became outright vindictive and Snape (who had been temporarily ostracized due to the problems he had caused Regulus) actually teamed up with him to cause as many problems for the Marauders as possible. There seemed to be a war between the Slytherins and the Marauders with the two Blacks at the center of it.

For their part, the Marauders were as devious as ever. Although it took nearly two days for Sirius to bounce back from severing ties with his brother, once he did, it was as if a weight had been lifted from him and he was as boisterous as ever, if not more so. The Marauders discovered two more secret passages that left school grounds, bringing their total to four. And all but Peter were able to consistently do a simple non-verbal spell. Peter could do the spell, but it wasn't consistent yet. The war between the Slytherins and the Marauders only seemed to entertain the boys. Getting to classes had become an exciting adventure, and they made good use of the secret passages they had learned about. There was a constant battle of wits to keep them on their toes and they were more victorious than not, earning them fame in the eyes of the general populous of the school.

For the December full-moon, the Marauders had a special prank in mind for Odium. It had taken a lot of practice and two trips to the hospital wing to get it just right.

James and Sirius caused a minor diversion before class started. Their antics were not enough to get them into trouble, but it kept everyone's focus on them. Peter snuck up to the front of the classroom and slid a cardboard cut-out of the moon behind the chalkboard.

About half-way through class, the four boys quietly cast spells on all of the shutters over the windows, effectively thrusting the room into darkness. A few of the girls squealed, but most students remained quiet in anticipation. James, non-verbally, levitated the moon, which had been charmed to glow, and it rose at the front of the class. In the meantime, Sirius and Remus were both casting various minor transfiguration spells.

The moon rose and gave off just enough light that the silhouette of Professor Odium appeared. One of the girls screamed as his outline morphed and grew ears, and his nose elongated into a snout. Unable to see what was happening, Odium frantically looked around, but saw nothing. This all happened in a matter of seconds, giving him very little time to react. But finally he gathered his wits and threw open the shutters, letting the bright daylight back into the room.

What had started off as fear among the faint of heart, and amazement among the rest, turned into amusement and laughter among all. Odium frantically searched for a mirror or some other kind of reflective surface to see what had caused such a commotion. To his horror, he saw his ears and nose, and even his hands had become hairy and paw-like, making it difficult to hold his wand. But the worst of it was that his fur was the kinky fur of a poodle and it was a lovely pastel pink.

Odium whirled on the class, dropping his wand in the process, and causing more snickers as he tried to pick it up with his paws, a task made difficult by the loss of his opposing thumbs.

There was a knock at the door and Professor McGonagall entered the classroom. She stood at the back of the class, temporarily stunned by the sight before her. She quickly regained her usual stern demeanor, though a hint of a smile played at the corners of her mouth. Apparently, the students weren't the only ones who weren't particularly fond of Professor Odium.

"I heard a commotion and wondered if you needed any assistance," she offered.

"No!" Odium growled, losing some of its effect when a few of the students snickered.

"Fine," McGonagall said in a slightly miffed voice and she walked out, leaving the man struggling to maintain his grip – on his wand.

"Professor," James spoke up, while raising his hand, of course. "Remus is pretty good at transfiguration. I'm sure he could help… turn…" James sentence trailed off as the Professor stormed out of the room. "you… back," he finished once the door had been slammed.

Everyone sat in stunned silence at having been abandoned by a professor. After five minutes, when he still had not returned, noise began to fill the room. It was as if the volume on a radio had been muted, and then slowly someone turned the dial, upping the level of noise. The students used the rest of class as a free time to do school work or just chat, though no one was brave enough to actually leave, in case Odium did return to the classroom.

The rest of term, the Professor received various "gifts" from students, ranging from little pink bows, to dog collars, to flea powder. By the end of term, the Professor snapped at everything and seemed to have developed a habit of muttering to himself, as well as a nervous tick. Despite how strict he was, any control he had over his classes was deteriorating, as it became increasingly difficult for students to take him seriously. No one, it seemed, was looking forward to end of term more than he was.

- - - - -

A/N - Thanks again for the reviews. Awesome! Thanks also to my editors, mom and mei mei, and me beta J.A.Carlton.

Nonair - I think your description of Odium is pretty right on. Thanks. I'm also glad that the interactions between the boys and Snape is consistent with how you think they would have been in school. Thanks again for acting as a gauge of sorts so I know I'm on track. I appreciate that. Hee hee. Tlad you liked the James/Lily interactions. I wasn't sure if I should start things between them this early or not. Thanks again.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 40

The train ride home was long and tedious. Remus wasn't with the others, as he had finally worked up the courage to ask his parents if he could stay at the school until after the full moon. He preferred the freedom of the shack and the safety of its magic to what his parents could provide at home. They relented, the previous summer's incident still on their minds.

After several games of Exploding Snap and Wizard's Chess, conversations about Quidditch and anything else the boys could think of, the train finally arrived at the London station.

When they disembarked from the train, the three boys quickly found the Potters and headed over to them. As it turned out, Peter's mum and John were waiting with them.

James immediately gave his mum a hug and did the one-armed, side hug with his dad. He then watched, curious, as Mrs. Potter quickly reached out and drew Sirius into a hug, too. Sirius blushed, but smiled at the unexpected display of affection.

Peter received a hug from his own mum and a handshake from John.

"Well, we best be off, Peter. Lots to do while you're home." Turning to the Potters, Mrs. Pettigrew said, "Nice visiting with you."

"We should get together for tea sometime," Mrs. Potter said, as the adults exchanged a round of handshakes, Mr. Potter still standing with his arm around James, and Mrs. Potter with her arm around Sirius.

"That would be lovely. I think it will have to wait until after Peter returns to school. Very busy, like I said."

"Of course. Just send an owl, and congratulations on your engagement."

Mrs. Pettigrew beamed. "Thank you." Then they turned and walked away, Mrs. Pettigrew talking animatedly to Peter.

"Sirius. James," a familiar voice called.

"Hey Gillette," Sirius answered. Gillette was dragging her parents and Lily over to the Potters.

"These are my parents. Mum, Dad – Sirius and James and…" Gillette stopped, not quite sure whose parents were standing with the boys, though if she had to guess she figured it was the Potters.

"Charles and Eileen Potter," Mr. Potter introduced them and extended his hand in greeting.

Gillette's parents also reached out to shake the Potters' hands, "Greg and Grace Beynon."

"Oh, and I'm Gillette and this is Lily," Gillette grabbed Lily's arm and dragged her forward. She smiled politely, but didn't look too thrilled to be there. "Where are your parents, Sirius?"

Sirius scanned the station platform. "Dunno. Don't particularly care."

Mrs. Potter gave Sirius a slight squeeze. "Sorry," he said, though not really sure why he apologized.

"Lily!" Lily's parents rushed over to her, her mum beaming at the sight of her daughter. She cupped Lily's face and examined her closely. "My how you've grown."

After greeting their daughter, yet another round of introductions ensued among the adults.

Sirius noticed a skinny girl, with a long face who had embraced Lily in greeting, and was now standing with her arm entwined with Lily's. She took everything in with a mixture of trepidation and wonder. James, too, had noticed the girl and, in true James fashion, he drew as much attention to her as he could. Bowing in a grand fashion, he asked, "And who would you be?"

The brunette smiled shyly but, with a quick glance at Lily, rolled her eyes and giggled. "Petunia."

"Nice to meet you, Petunia. I'm James," he said while reaching out and vigorously shaking her hand. "And this is Sirius."

Petunia nodded to Sirius.

"We should double-date, sometime – You, Lily, Sirius and I," James said.

Had Sirius been within hitting distance of James, he would have clocked him, but settled instead for rolling his eyes. Not only was the girl a good two to three years older than he, but was not really all that attractive. He was about to comment, when Lily beat him to it.

"I really don't think Sirius is my type."

"Hey!" Sirius interjected, more because it was expected than that he actually cared.

Lily continued, "Besides, there's a long list of boys I'd much rather introduce my sister to. I do like her after all." Lily's parents looked apologetically at the Potters for their daughter's behavior – at least until James' retort.

"And why would you torture her by saving the best for last?" It was James' parents turn to appear abashed. Both sets of parents looked at each other and immediately started laughing, causing Lily and James to blush, having just realized their parents were standing right there, listening to their sparring.

"Sirius!" Almost everyone in the group jumped at the sound of Mrs. Black's voice.

_Great_. His mum was already yelling. Mrs. Black's arm was draped around Regulus in the same way that Mrs. Potter's arm was around Sirius.

"Nice to meet you all. I have to go," Sirius said hurriedly.

Before letting go, Mrs. Potter gave him one last hug. "Let us know if you need anything." Sirius nodded and grabbed his trunk.

James gently hit Sirius on the arm. "I'll contact you tonight."

As he walked by, Gillette gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but she could feel the sudden tension in the Potters and Sirius.

Mrs. Black and Regulus turned to leave before Sirius reached them, leaving him to follow behind.

"Ah," Mr. Potter said sarcastically. "Such friendly people."

"Well, we should be going, too," Mrs. Evans stated. To the Potters she said, "It was nice meeting you." The Evans and Beynons walked away together, Lily and Gillette discussing when they would get together over holiday and the mums talking with each other. They had obviously met on previous stops at the station.

- - - - -

When Sirius arrived home with his family, Mr. Black was waiting to receive them. Regulus, who had been pleasantly chatting with his mother about the school year, suddenly became rigid with tension.

"I think we should get the unpleasantries over with before we begin the holiday. That way we can enjoy the rest of your time home." Mrs. Black let out a small sound that Sirius could have sworn was a whimper, except he'd never heard her make that sound before. He also noticed that she was suddenly holding very tightly to Regulus' shoulder.

"Whatever," Sirius said as uncaringly as possible. "I'll be in my room."

Mrs. Black stared at him in disbelief. Regulus stared at him in fury. Mr. Black had a calculating look on his face.

"No. You will be here for this. That was the deal," Mr. Black said.

"Fine. But can we get it over with? I'd really like to have a lie down." Sirius hoped that his parents wouldn't call his bluff. He didn't think he could stand to watch his brother be punished like he had over the summer.

Mrs. Black's eyes had grown alarmingly large and she looked about to explode. "Don't you care? Don't you care what you've done to your brother?"

"Why? It won't be nearly as funny as some of the hexes we put on him at school."

Regulus looked shocked. He knew that things had been bad between them. But he had nurtured a hope that, despite his own words, Sirius still cared about him. Obviously, he was wrong.

"We shall see…" Mr. Black pulled out his wand and cursed his youngest son, sending him to the floor.

"No!" Mrs. Black shrieked.

Sirius had been watching the interaction between his mother and his brother all afternoon. He also saw the protectiveness and love his mother felt for her youngest. He focused all of his attention on those things, and the jealously and anger they inspired. He forced a casual stance and an unflinching gaze.

Mr. Black lifted the curse and his wife practically dove for her son, who was crying, though not from pain this time, but from the perceived betrayal.

When the first punishment was done, Sirius sat down on the steps leading upstairs. He schooled his expression to be one of boredom. _I should be an actor_, he thought wildly, and snickered.

Still watching his eldest, Mr. Black nodded. "Fine. I think we're done here."

Sirius got back up, climbed the stairs, and walked to his room with the air of someone who is bored and unconcerned. Once inside, he quietly closed his door, put his back to it, and slid to the floor. That evening, he mourned the loss of his brother.

He fell asleep on the floor, and was awakened by a faint vibrating in his pocket. Sirius rubbed his eyes and pulled out the mirror. "Hey James," he said in a hoarse voice.

"You look terrible, mate," James replied.

"Fell asleep… on the floor."

James looked hard at him, as if trying to read as much information as he could before asking questions. "So? Did it work?"

"Think so. He only…" Sirius stopped, not sure if he could speak. Instead, he held up a finger to James, indicating he should wait, then got up and crawled into his bed. It gave him the time he needed to shove aside his emotions. "My father only punished him once, then let it drop."

James nodded that he understood. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Sirius felt the tears come again, and he covered his eyes with his hands. "Yeah," he choked out. After a minute he banged his head into the wall and said, "Look, I'm really tired. I'll talk with you tomorrow."

"Okay," James said, at a loss for how to help his friend. "'Night Sirius."

"'Night James." Sirius lay in bed for quite a while, staring up at the ceiling. After deciding he was lying there in vane, he got up and snuck to the kitchen to get food. He had skipped out on dinner that evening, though he couldn't actually remember the call to come eat, so he had probably fallen asleep by then.

On his way back up to his room, he noticed the light was on in his father's study, and he heard voices drifting out into the hall. Curious, he crept a little closer.

"I don't understand," Mrs. Black sounded agitated. "Why don't you just name Regulus as heir? Sirius is hopeless."

Sirius was once again surprised that he could still be hurt by his mother's words. But he continued listening.

"He's not hopeless," his father said thoughtfully. "Something will work."

"Not hopeless? He has no loyalty to this family – to the things we believe. How can you possibly think you can still rein him in?"

"Because he acted more like a Black tonight than I've ever seen before."

Sirius felt like he'd been sucker-punched in the gut and almost lost the meager sandwich he'd eaten in the kitchen. He silently hurried back to his room. By the time he reached his room, he was nearly hyperventilating. What had he done? The very thing that was supposed to help him and his brother – the thing that he hoped would give him some measure of freedom from his family – and his father was actually proud of him. Well… he hadn't used those words, exactly.

Sirius pulled out his mirror. "James Potter." The mirror glowed faintly and he saw James' bedroom come into view. "James!" He whispered insistently.

There was a groan on the other end. "James!"

"Uh. Wha?" James answered groggily.

"Tell me I'm not like them." Sirius pleaded.

Something in Sirius tone brought James fully awake - quickly. "What?"

"Tell me I'm not like them."

"You're not like them… Your parents, right?"

Sirius nodded. He hadn't really been comforted by the words, since James hadn't even been sure who he was talking about.

"What happened?" James asked. "And stop pacing. You keep going out of view."

Sirius moved the mirror so he could sit on his bed and talk to James without holding it. Then he told James what he'd heard his father say.

James was silent for a minute. "Does it matter?"

"What?" Sirius sounded horrified. He was like _them_. His best friend even thought so.

"So you used their tactics. You won this round and your brother is safe. I really don't think you had any other choice, barring becoming the perfect son."

Running his hands through his hair, Sirius sighed. "Yeah, I guess." He didn't like it. And James was right. Wars had been lost because one side held fast to the old "honorable" way of fighting, instead of adjusting to the tactics of the enemy. But how far was too far? At what point did the potential loss of honor mean more than winning?

"Your intentions were good," James tried to encourage.

Sirius only muttered something that sounded a lot like "the road to hell." After a minute Sirius continued the argument, "Except now I have no chance of getting him out of this life."

"He's not innocent, Sirius. He made plenty of his own choices along the way. Besides, there's still tomorrow."

Sirius sighed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. James had only marginally comforted him, but at least he wasn't on the verge of panicking any more. Now, weariness took hold and he just wanted to sleep. "Night, James."

James paused, wondering if the conversation had done anything to ease his friend's conscience. "Night, Sirius. And Sirius… You're not like them, no matter what they say."

The next morning Sirius decided that he could know the tactics of the enemy, but not use them. If his father wanted subterfuge, he would be blunt. He got his chance at breakfast.

Mr. Black was reading the paper, and Sirius noted the front article mentioned something about another attack with a large picture of the skull and snake symbol. He froze with his fork halfway to his mouth. Then, without thinking, he dropped his fork and grabbed the paper out of his father's hand.

Mr. Black was stunned by this irreverent act, but recovered quickly. "I do hope you have a very good explanation for your rudeness."

Sirius ignored his father and continued to read the article. Three more wizarding families had been attacked over the holiday. It seemed that a group known as The Death Eaters specifically targeted half-blood families with children at Hogwarts. Sirius scanned the article, trying to find the names of the families involved; his heart racing at what he might find. With relief he found the names of the families. They were all students of whom he was only vaguely familiar. None of the kids having been in Gryffindor, but he wagered it was only a matter of time until that changed. Sirius stood up, intending to go to his room to contact James.

"Sit back down boy!" came his father's sharp voice and Sirius complied.

"Did you know about this?" Sirius showed his father the front page.

"I read about it this morning," his father said, in a voice that hinted that wasn't the entire truth.

"Tragic," Mrs. Black said, sounding anything but upset – one could even say she sounded amused.

"They killed kids. Children. Children I go to school with," Sirius' voice was practically shaking with anger.

"They were mudbloods. It's hardly a loss."

"Some of my friends are half-bloods and muggle-borns!"

Mrs. Black snapped, "Well maybe you should have picked better friends."

"Better than who? The sycophants and backstabbers you call friends?" Sirius was yelling now and he had gotten to his feet again.

"You impudent boy!" his mother yelled back, more than matching his volume.

"Enough!" Mr. Black yelled, while slamming his hand on the table, making everyone jump. "Apologize to your mother."

"I will not!"

"Sirius, you don't seem to realize the position you're in. You are walking a dangerous path. You are protected because you are a pureblood and you are part of this family," Mr. Black stated matter-of-factly. "I have tried to tell you this before. Step out from under that umbrella and you are no longer protected."

Sirius thought through some of his past conversations and decided now was as good a time as any to fish for information. "Protected from whom? Voldemort?" The reaction was instantaneous, and stunned Sirius. His mother dropped her fork and covered her mouth. He could have sworn a look of fear passed through her eyes, but that was so foreign to the Black Family that he couldn't be sure. Mr. Black had paled and stood to his feet, the same unfamiliar look of fear passing over his face. It was very disconcerting to Sirius.

"Do. Not. Speak the Dark Lord's name in this house." His father's tone could not have been more deadly and it caused Sirius to take a step back.

Sirius mustered up his courage. "Who is he?"

"Someone more powerful than you can imagine. And he will set the world on fire – purifying it of all filth and impurity."

Again, the feeling of being disconcerted washed over Sirius as he heard awe in his father's voice. "And these Death Eaters?"

Mr. Black broke from his reverie and smirked at his son. "They do his will."

"Are you one of them?" Sirius wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer to that.

"Don't be foolish. We have given him our loyalty, but we have not been marked. Some of us need to maintain the appearance of neutrality for political reasons."

Sirius snorted. "Neutrality? Since when have the Blacks ever been neutral?"

"Fine. We have to appear not to have officially chosen sides. Don't mock this, Sirius. One day, you will have to take your place among them."

Squinting up at his father in suspicion, Sirius asked, "Among whom?"

"The Death Eaters, of course. Every supporting household is required to provide at least one representative."

Sirius took another step back from his father. "Are you insane? There's no way I'd join that group of murderers."

"Then Regulus will," Mrs. Black said confidently, smiling at her youngest son. Regulus just looked back at her in astonishment.

"No!" Mr. Black protested. "It will be Sirius. He's The Heir."

Mrs. Black huffed, but was not about to argue with her husband in front of the children.

Sirius laughed mirthlessly. "There is nothing you could say or do to convince me to join them. I would die first."

"That can be arranged!" Mr. Black yelled, losing his patience.

With a look of incredulity that only a teenager can muster, Sirius stared at his father before walking haughtily from the room.

"Well," Mr. Black said as he sat back down at the table. "That didn't quite go as I intended."

Over the rest of his time at home, Sirius observed his mother and Regulus bonding more closely than before. It seemed Mrs. Black was going to subvert his father's wishes if she could, which suited Sirius just fine. The level of disdain he had for his family reached an all-time high, and he treated them in much the same way they treated… everyone else. Less than four more years, he thought, and he'd be gone for good.

- - - - -

A/N - Well, I think this was one of Sirius' easier holidays, eh?

Thank you to everyone who took the time to review. MilyMB asked about when the third part of the story would be starting. I'm thinking it will be between year 3 and 4. I hadn't really wanted to break the story up by year, but it looks like that might be close to what happens after all. I'll give warning though before starting Part 3. Thanks again to all. I appreciate the encouragement. Thank you also to my editors, Mom and mei mei, and my lovely beta, J.A.Carlton.

Nonair - I know I've said this before, but I find the relationship between Sirius and Regulus very interesting. I have a feeling I water down the rift, like I water down the boys bullying, but I hope it's not too far off from the way their characters seemed to be portrayed later. And it was very cruel, what Sirius did. I'm glad you saw it as a sign of maturity, though - making the tough decisions for the safety of another. Glad you enjoyed the revenge on Odium, too. Ha ha. Their pranks are the fun part of the story, so I'm always glad to hear others are enjoying the pranks. Thanks again for the review.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer - Usual.

Chapter 41

The atmosphere at the train station was different than Remus had ever seen before. He had, of course, heard about the deaths over break, though he didn't personally know any of the families. Where there were usually joyful reunions, there were hushed conversations. Small groups of students were hugging and crying, while others were nervously exchanging what the latest rumors were about the identities of the culprits. No one knew if there were only a few brazen people involved, or if the network of dark wizards was larger than anyone anticipated. Whispers of an unnamed evil wove through each story – unnamed by intent. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Having arrived early, Remus watched everything from the Marauder's usual compartment until James arrived.

"Hey, Moony," James greeted. Nodding toward the window, he said, "This is so unbelievable. Did you know any of… them?"

Remus shook his head. "No. You?"

"No. Oh – Sirius."

Peter and Sirius arrived at the compartment at the same time. Sirius threw himself onto one of the seats in a rather dramatic fashion, while Peter quietly entered behind him.

"So how about you guys? Did either of you know the families?" James directed the question at the two late-comers.

"Are you kidding?" Sirius asked. "My family would never stoop so low." Sirius' voice was heavy with disgusted sarcasm, making it obvious that these were not his feelings on the matter. Suddenly very solemn, he added, "But, I had met Richard once."

Peter nodded. "My mum used to go to tea regularly with Mrs. Morris. She was pretty upset about what happened. I think she's a bit nervous, too."

Sirius looked mildly surprised. "Why? I thought both your parents were wizards."

Peter gave Sirius an odd look. Under normal circumstances, Sirius' questions would have been considered rude, except to purebloods. "Well, they were, but… Well… You know how it is. Unless your family lines go back several generations, you're not considered pureblood."

Sirius nodded understanding. "What about you, Remus?"

"No, we're not pureblood either, but my parents are nervous for a different reason," he said in a hushed voice. When the others stared at him, waiting for more information, he got up, checked the corridor, then slid their compartment door closed. He pulled a recent copy of _The Daily Prophet_ out of his pocket and handed it to James. While Sirius leaned in, he pointed to an article that started on page one and continued on page three. Since Peter couldn't see the paper from where he was, Remus explained. "It seems that werewolves are starting to congregate in and around London. Most disturbing of these being Fenrir Greyback. The more werewolves there are around, the more nervous The Ministry gets, and the tighter restrictions become."

Sirius frowned and scratched his head. Changing gears slightly, he said, "That doesn't make sense, though. I mean, if Voldemort," (Peter hissed at the name, causing James to roll his eyes), "is trying to cleanse the wizarding population, why get the support of werewolves? Most wizards - purebloods or not - see all half-breeds as less than human." Remus flinched at the term half-breed. "Sorry," Sirius apologized. Remus nodded, understanding what he was getting at.

"Wait – back up… why do you say it's that Voldemort guy?" James interrupted. Peter jumped slightly when James said the name.

"My parents."

"They told you that it's him?" James asked in surprise.

"No. Not in so many words. But I asked who Voldemort… Honestly, Peter, get a grip," Sirius interrupted himself and cuffed Peter on the head. "… who _Voldemort_ was," Sirius emphasized the name just to get a reaction from Peter, "and they called him 'The Dark Lord.' Remember, that's the name my cousin used a while back. Oh, and get this, I was forbidden to speak his name in the house _and_ I was told it's my duty to become a Death Eater." Sirius muttered a string of profanities under his breath after that statement.

"What? You've got to be kidding!" James looked astonished.

"I wish. Don't worry, though. I have other employment plans… like Auror or Hit Wizard. If I get really lucky, maybe I'll get to arrest my own bloody parents. Goodness knows I've got plenty of dirt on them."

Remus spocked his eyebrow. "Had a good holiday then, Sirius?"

Sirius snorted and then started laughing, as did the others. "Sorry, mates."

"No problem," Remus chuckled. "But back to your other statement… If Fenrir is involved, they're probably being used in mercenary capacity. He doesn't exactly care about werewolf rights. He's probably been the biggest instrument in our failing to get rights."

"I wonder who else he'll recruit for his purposes…" James pondered out loud.

"Goblins, for one," Peter contributed. The others looked at him in surprise. "No really. Apparently they're being very quiet about the whole matter, which makes The Ministry nervous. Goblins still aren't treated as equals and have more restrictions in dealings with Wizards than Wizard-Wizard business dealings, and there's general animosity among the Goblins about that."

Sirius whistled. "Man, all Voldemort would have to do is promise freedom to most dark creatures, half-breeds and Goblins, and he'd have a ready-made, quite extensive army at his disposal."

The boys sat silently, contemplating all of this; but eventually, the mood and conversation turned to the more mundane for the rest of the trip back to school.

The feast bringing in the start of the second term was more subdued than usual, and Professor Dumbledore announced that the staff was available for those students who needed to talk.

One of the wonderful things about youth is its innocence and naivety. Sheltered in the familiar, safe walls of the school, life returned very much to what it was before break. The conflict beyond the confines of the school was spoken of in the same way rumors were passed around about Professor Odium and his impending nervous breakdown. It was "out there" and didn't affect the daily lives of most of the students. Only those who had lost friends took longer to recover, but this was not the end of the world for them, either, and surely they would lose no more. And currently, there were more pressing matters like: exams, who was going to win the Quidditch Cup, and who was it easier to dodge, Peeves or the Marauders?

Chapter 42

Hogsmeade visits had an informal tradition of being many students' first date. The second to the last Hogsmeade visit of the year also had an informal tradition. This was when girls would take initiative to ask the guys on a date.

And James started his own tradition for Hogsmeade visits. As soon as the weekend notice was posted, he'd turn and ask Lily to go with him. She, of course, would say no and they'd move on. At first Lily had flushed with embarrassment, and probably flattery, but by the end of the year, she was answering out of habit and didn't bother to look up from whatever classwork she was doing. It became a joke among the other Gryffindors, some even placing bets on how long it would take James to see the notice and whether or not Lily would change her answer.

So, when the second to last visit arrived, James automatically asked Lily to go to Hogsmeade.

"Evans! Hogsmeade this weekend?" James called from across the room.

"No, Potter. I'm already going with someone."

"Who?"

"None of your business."

James hrumphed. It was one thing for her to say no. It was an entirely different matter for her to be going with another guy.

Sirius patted his friend on the back, trying not to smile. "Sorry, mate. Better luck next time."

At breakfast the next day, the four boys were sitting at the table eating, when a lovely Ravenclaw named Aden approached them. She was a third-year in Ancient Runes with Remus and Sirius. "Excuse me," she said in a shy, sweet voice.

"Aden!" Sirius greeted jovially. "What can we do for you?"

"Um," she glanced down and blushed slightly before looking back up at Remus, "I was wondering if… Would you like to go to Hogsmeade on… Saturday?"

Remus stared at her, his mind not quite processing what she was asking. Sirius, who happened to be sitting next to Remus, grabbed the back of his head and started nodding it for him.

"Yes. Yes he would," Sirius answered for him when it was apparent Remus couldn't talk.

Aden, however, continued to stare at Remus, wanting to hear from him that he wanted to go. After an awkward couple of seconds, Sirius slapped Remus on the back of the head, jumpstarting his stalled mind, however sluggishly. "Ow. I mean, yes."

Aden smiled broadly and walked away, bouncing slightly as she went. Peter, James, and Sirius cheered for their friend.

Remus watched her go, and then frowned. "No. No, no, no. I can't go with her." He started to stand, but Sirius pulled him back to his seat.

"Why not?" Sirius asked.

"Why do you think?" Remus asked in an unusually impatient tone.

"Relax, Moony. It's one date. One trip to Hogsmeade. It's not like she proposed to you or something."

James jumped in. "He's right, you know. You may not even like each other that much. But if you do… well… You never know. We don't have a problem with your furry little problem. She might not either."

Remus just grunted in response.

"Oo! Moony," Peter said excitedly. "You're the first one of us to be going on a date!" Peter had always expected that honor to go to Sirius, or at the very least James. For the moment, he felt a little vicarious pride that Remus had been first.

"Who's going on a date?" Gillette and Lily had just shown up.

"Moony. He's going to Hogsmeade with Aden from Ravenclaw," Sirius said grinning.

"Oh. Congratulations Remus," Lily said. "She's a sweet girl."

Remus still wasn't sure this was a good idea, but he couldn't help but grin.

"Speaking of a date…" Gillette started somewhat timidly. "What are you doing on Saturday, Sirius?"

"Uh… Going to Hogsmeade, Gillette," Sirius said with a roguish smile. "What are you doing on Saturday?"

"You're going to make this difficult, aren't you?" she asked, grinning back.

Feigning ignorance, he answered, "What? Make what difficult?"

"Would you like to go with me to Hogsmeade?" Gillette decided straightforward would be the best way to get an answer.

"Meh," Sirius shrugged noncommittally, at which time, he was smacked on the back of the head by Remus, who really just wanted an excuse to get him back; James kicked him under the table; and Lily whacked him on the arm. "OW! I'm sorry," he chuckled while throwing his arms over his head to protect himself from further attack. He then reached out and put his arm around Gillette's waist, pulling her onto the seat next to him. "I'd love to."

"Really?" Gillette asked excitedly.

"Really," Sirius answered. He liked Gillette. She had a great sense of humor and was very laid back, not to mention one of the best looking girls in their year. Unlike James, who had his heart set on Lily, Sirius hadn't given much thought to dating. Sure, he liked to look at pretty girls as much as the next guy, but there hadn't been that one girl who caught his attention. He was, after all, only fourteen, and had no plans of picking the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with already.

"Well, Peter," James threw his arm over Peter's shoulders. "Looks like it's you and me on Saturday."

"Hey," Sirius held up a finger. "Peter could still get a date by then."

Everyone laughed, except James, who picked up a grape and flung it at Sirius. "Very funny," James said sarcastically. "So who are you going with, Evans?"

"I already told you," Lily responded.

"You did?"

"Yeah. Remember? Mr. None-of-your-business."

"We should all meet up for lunch," Sirius suggested. He wanted to make sure he had an out in case the date wasn't going so well. Not that he expected it to be a problem.

"Sounds good," James agreed. He wanted to meet this mystery man of Evans' and figured if Gillette was meeting up with the rest of them, Lily would come too. "12:30 at The Three Broomsticks?"

Everyone agreed.

Saturday morning, the guys were getting ready for their day in the village. Addison had left early to meet his girl friend – a cute little Hufflepuff named Molly. Remus had threatened to call off his date every day since Aden asked, and twice the Marauders had to intervene to keep him from actually doing it. James was a little concerned about spending the morning without Sirius and Remus. Peter tended to hero worship James, occasionally making conversation difficult between the two of them. Peter, who was nervous by nature, seemed extra jumpy, causing Sirius to make a few snide comments about Peter being on his first date, which earned him a punch in the arm. He would have received worse, but James actually liked Gillette and wanted her first date to go well, which required Sirius to be in one piece and in his right mind. And Sirius found himself surprised by his own nervousness.

The Marauders came down the stairs leading to the Entrance Hall, said their final good-byes and good-lucks, and split off in different directions.

James tried to find Lily so he could spy on her and find out who she was with.

Sirius had just turned away from the others when Gillette walked up to him. She was dressed in muggle clothes. Being muggle born, she had not yet acquired robes for all occasions, and her casual attire was jeans and a silk button-up blouse. Sirius smiled. He was wearing casual wizards robes and couldn't help but picture his mother's face if she knew he was going out with a muggle-born.

Gillette cocked her head to the side and smiled back. "What?"

"Nothing. You look good." Sirius offered his arm and the two of them walked toward the entrance together.

That just left Remus. He looked around for Aden, half hoping she wouldn't show. It definitely was not that he didn't like her. He just didn't see this ending well. His friends really didn't understand how special they were in their acceptance of who he was.

"Hi Remus." Aden had found him through the crowd. She gave him a friendly hug before taking his arm, and the two of them headed toward the door.

"You look very nice, Aden," Remus complimented her.

"Why thank you. So do you. So what do you want to do first?"

"Oh." _How stupid_, he thought. She had probably expected him to have plans for the day. "I don't know. Where do you want to go?"

"Do you like tea?"

"Yeah."

"Good. We can go to Madam Puddifoot's."

"Okay. Good." He felt relieved that they now had some sort of plan and destination.

When they arrived at Madam Puddifoot's, Remus couldn't help but gawk at the incredibly frilly decor. He had a sneaky suspicion that, one – if this was Aden's idea of an ideal place, he might be off the hook as far as continuing the relationship and, two – if any of the other Marauders caught him in here, he'd never live it down to the end of his days. "Wow," was really all he could say.

Aden smiled at him. "It's a bit tacky, but it really is a great place for tea and chatting."

Remus chuckled, "Or not." He nodded at a couple who, despite the early hour, was already lip-locked over their tea cups.

Aden wrinkled her nose. "Yeah. It's kind of like at school. You learn to tune it out." And this was true. It was not uncommon to find couples snogging in various not-too-hidden places when walking the corridors at night. And there seemed to be some sort of divot near the entrances of each of the common rooms that was a favorite place to "say" good-night.

They sat down and ordered tea. There was the usual awkward silence at the beginning of a conversation between people who don't know each other too well, but Aden brought up Ancient Runes, and after that, the conversation flowed with remarkable ease. They talked about everything from classes, to teachers, to their families, to what was going on outside the school. As much as Remus loved his friends, it was nice talking with someone who was more intellectual than his friends tended to be. Not that they couldn't be, except maybe Peter, but they chose not to delve too deeply into philosophy and politics and other heady pursuits if they could help it.

Remus was quite surprised when three hours had passed and it was time to meet the others for lunch. He got up and extended his hand to Aden to help her up. She took it and, smiling, didn't let go.

As they left Madam Puddifoot's, Aden asked, "So what about your friends?"

"What about them?"

"Well, I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but… You're one of the nicest guys I've met, but… I've really only seen you hang out with Black, Potter, and Pettigrew."

Remus thought about the question and wondered what exactly she was looking for in an answer. Finally he shrugged, "We just hit it off from the start. We all met on the train and then were sorted into the same house. Our friendship just grew from there."

"I've never understood why you're in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw. I can't help but think there's more to you than you let people see."

Subconsciously, Remus started to withdraw. He pulled his hand from Aden's under the guise of scratching his head, but he didn't return it. He chuckled somewhat nervously. "No. I don't know where you'd get that."

Aden stopped and turned to face Remus. "I know you're clever enough to be in Ravenclaw." She paused and searched his face, as if looking for the answer there. "You must be very brave, too."

At that, Remus laughed genuinely. "Not so much. But thank you."

"Hmm," was all Aden said in response, but she smiled back. Wrapping her arm around his, they started back down the street.

"Why do they call you 'Moony'?" Aden asked.

Remus groaned. "You'd have to ask Sirius about that." And he silently thanked Sirius for coming up with a cover story.

Shortly after that, they arrived at The Three Broomsticks. James and Peter were already there, as were Lily and a very good-looking fifth year that Remus only recognized by sight.

"Moony!" James practically shouted, looking far too relieved to see his friend.

Remus and Aden snickered as they approached the table. "James," Remus calmly greeted. "Peter, Lily. I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"This is Reggie. Reggie – Remus and Aden." They exchanged greetings.

Remus looked around. "So, we're just waiting on Sirius and Gillette, then." Remus found this entirely too amusing. James was obviously miserable to see his "competition" and Lily would never have been seen sitting in James' company if it wasn't for Gillette, who wasn't there. Everyone around the table settled into an uncomfortable silence until Aden started up a conversation with Lily – leaving only James in uncomfortable silence.

After ten minutes, the door to The Three Broomsticks opened and in walked Sirius and Gillette, holding onto each other for support because they were laughing so hard. James' brow furrowed even more and Lily rolled her eyes, disgusted that her friend was having such a good time with a Marauder.

As they approached the table, James and Lily both started talking angrily.

"Where have you been?" Lily asked Gillette.

"What's so funny?" James asked Sirius.

Sirius and Gillette both tried to stifle their laughter in the presence of their angry friends, but that actually made things even funnier, and they both burst out laughing again.

"Sorry," Sirius apologized as he and Gillette once again tried to contain themselves. "Cheering charm…"

Gillette nodded. "Oh, I gotta pee." She tried to get up and almost fell. Sirius grabbed her and helped steady her, which was difficult since they'd both broken down into near-hysterics again.

When Gillette returned, and she and Sirius were still trying to keep from laughing, Lily pulled out her wand in frustration, whispering, "_Finite_."

"Ahh, Evans. Buzz kill," Sirius said, pouting.

Lily very maturely stuck her tongue out at Sirius and turned to Gillette. "Now, what happened?"

"Well, Sirius bought a book…" Gillette started.

"Wait, wait. Sirius? Bought a book?" Remus smirked.

"Yes, I did," he answered proudly.

"And so we thought we'd try a few of the spells in it."

"You what?!" Lily yelled, then immediately turned crimson and slouched down in her seat. "Sorry… You what?" she whispered insistently.

"Well, it's not like we don't know what the spells do. There are descriptions and everything," Gillette defended.

Remus, Peter and James were still stunned that, of all the things Sirius could have bought, he bought a book.

Remus looked at Sirius suspiciously. "Can I see the book?"

"Sure," Sirius shrugged. "So, have we ordered yet?"

Remus was in the middle of drinking his butterbeer, when he suddenly choked and set down both the book and the mug.

"Hey! Don't spit on my new book," Sirius joked, but he knew that Remus had seen exactly why he bought the book.

Aden patted Remus on the back, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Remus choked out, exchanging a meaningful glance with Sirius. "Just went down the wrong pipe." The book that Sirius had somehow managed to purchase had unusually detailed instructions for performing wand-less magic. It was not the type of book that any responsible proprietor would sell to a third-year student at Hogwarts. "You did _buy_ this book, right?"

"Why Moony! You offend my honor. Yes, I bought the book. I even have witnesses." Sirius smiled casually, trying to dispel the suspicion on the faces of the others present. It would not be good for the girls to start asking questions – or whoever that other bloke was. "Honestly, just because I stole your charms notes, doesn't mean I steal every book I can get my hands on."

"You stole his charms notes?" Lily asked.

"I gave them back," Sirius defended. "I know a good copy charm," he winked at Gillette.

Lily rolled her eyes and sighed, mumbling something under her breath. Reggie was taking this all in with an amused smile on his face. This was a side of Lily he had not had opportunity to see before.

"Why do you call him 'Moony'?" Aden asked, seemingly out of the blue.

"He didn't tell you the story?" Sirius grinned like the Cheshire cat. At this point, Lily slapped her hand to her forehead and groaned. "That good of a memory, Lily?" Sirius chuckled. She glared at him. "Well. Moony was, apparently bored one evening…"

"Wha? I…" Remus sputtered.

"Shhh. It's rude to interrupt. So he dared me to drop my pants and moon the Gryffindor common room."

"Really?" Aden questioned, smiling at Remus who was blushing.

"So I stood up," at which point Sirius actually stood up. "And I…" Sirius made like he was going to moon everyone again, but everyone at the table shouted "NO!" at the same time, causing all of the other patrons at The Three Broomsticks to look over at them. Sirius smiled and shrugged. "Now you know." He sat back down.

The rest of lunch was surprisingly pleasant now that James' attention was diverted by his friends, and after an hour had gone by, the Marauders had caused such a ruckus that they even had Madam Rosmerta laughing whenever she came to their table.

After lunch, Lily and Reggie wandered off on their own, but the four Marauders and Aden and Gillette hung out together until it was time to go back to the castle.

Remus walked Aden back to the Ravenclaw common room. "I… I had a really nice time."

Aden smiled. "Yeah. Me too."

They stood outside the entrance facing each other. Remus had no idea what to say next. He discovered that he really did like her, but he was afraid, too. He wanted to ask her out again, but he knew he shouldn't.

"Remus," Aden said gently. She took his hands in hers. "I had a really nice time, and would love to go out with you again," Remus' heart started beating far faster than he thought was healthy, "when you're ready."

Remus let out a breath he'd been holding. He smiled tenderly at her and then lowered his head, touching his forehead to hers. After a second, he pulled back from her. "Okay then. Goodnight." And he left. It wasn't the cold retreat of the fearful, but a warm and expectant parting of two people putting hope in their future.

When Remus arrived at his own common room, Peter, James, Sirius and Gillette were all grinning as he entered. He smiled back at them and sat down in a chair near the group.

"So?" James asked curiously.

Before he could answer, the portrait hole opened and Lily walked in. She was grinning and blushing.

Gillette patted Sirius on the knee. "I'll be back." She hurried over to Lily and the two girls whispered briefly. The boys watched as there was squeeing and hopping and more whispering. Abruptly, the two girls broke out of their huddle and Lily rushed to the stairs of the girls' dorm. Gillette came up behind Sirius on the couch and bent over to talk to him. "I'm going to talk with Lily. I'll see you tomorrow." Sirius nodded and turned to kiss her cheek, but she had moved to do the same and they accidentally kissed on the lips – nothing prolonged, just a quick peck.

"Sorry," Sirius said quickly.

Gillette rolled her eyes and patted his chest. "Oh please. See you tomorrow."

Sirius turned back to his fellow Marauders, who were all staring at him. He just grinned and shrugged. "So…" he prompted Remus to tell all.

"Why do I have to go first? You're the one who got a kiss."

"Quit being a baby. Spill it!"

Remus wriggled uncomfortably, "It was… nice. She's a great conversationalist…"

"What?" James laughed. "What 13 year old guy says – the girl I'm dating is a great conversationalist?"

"14," Remus corrected. "And I'm sorry you don't value speaking in the women you want to date." Peter and Sirius burst out laughing.

"Hey!" James' wagged his finger at Remus threateningly.

"Anyway… Do you want to know or not?" The other's nodded. "Okay. Yeah. We sat in… a… tea shop" (Remus was loath to mention Madam Puddifoot's by name) "and talked. Up until the time we met you for lunch. That's it. And… we're not dating."

"Why not?" Peter asked. "You looked like you got along."

"I… can't!" Remus replied frustratedly. He couldn't understand why this was such a hard concept for his friends to understand.

In another one of those moments-of-insight that Sirius tended to blindside people with, he said, "Are you afraid she'll find out, or afraid she'll leave you? 'Cause, I gotta say, mate… a girl leaving you is always a risk when you start dating someone. But you'll never know if she'll stay unless you give her a chance."

Remus sighed. Sirius did have a point, but her finding out his secret would, realistically, put him in more risk than just a broken heart. "Yes, but if she does find out and if she does… walk away… She could tell anyone. Let it slip to anyone. She could be afraid of me the rest of our time at school together."

"Look, Sirius isn't saying you should tell every girl that you date, but eventually you're going to have to let someone in. It might not be Aden. But it could be." James enjoyed seeing all of his friends happy, but Remus often closed himself off to even the possibility of happiness. He could only imagine what Remus had been through before coming to Hogwarts, and shuddered. He and the other Marauders had helped Remus come out of his shell. He just wished Remus could see that they wouldn't be the only three who would accept him… completely.

"I don't know. I'll think about it."

"And what about you?" James turned to Sirius.

Sirius grinned. "We had a great time. Might do it again even. Oh!" Sirius reached for the book he had set on the table. "Check this out." He flipped through the pages until he found the section on wand-less magic and placed it before James. Peter read over James' shoulder.

"Excellent!" James said excitedly. "How did you get this?"

"The book was mislabeled. It was in the wrong section of the store. So when I went to buy it, the woman behind the counter didn't think anything of it and let me."

"What else is in here?" Remus asked cautiously.

"I didn't look through all of it." Sirius glanced around, then leaned forward. "I didn't want Gillette to know why I had bought it. So I found a couple of the more innocuous spells and… we had a little fun."

"But it kept her away from the heavier stuff," James finished the line of thinking. Sirius nodded.

"You really need to be careful with this. At least until we know what else is in here."

"Yes, mum… I mean Moony."

Remus smirked. "Mind if I look through it?"

"Be my guest. I am going to bed. Anyone want to join me?" Sirius wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Suddenly he was dodging three pillows. "I can take a hint," he said as he walked up to their dorm.

James and Peter watched Remus get drawn into the new book. James shook his head. "Night Moony. Don't stay up too late." He patted Remus' head on his way to the stairs.

Peter followed behind. In a rare moment of bared-soul honesty, Peter stopped and turned to Remus. "You know, Moony, the others are right. And some of us, with much less complicated lives, would love a chance like the one you were given tonight."

Remus frowned, but then smiled at Peter. "Thanks Peter."

Peter nodded and went up the stairs.

- - - - -

A/N - I know I took some liberties with the Hogsmeade "tradition," but hey, what's an AU without a few liberties taken, right? Hope no one minds.

Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews. And thanks, too, to mom, mei mei, and J.A. Carlton. Thanks for being my support, sounding boards, a gentle shove to keep going. Love ya.

Nonair - I'm glad you like the parents and that they seem to fit with the characters and canon. I know it was a little...odd, suddenly introducing a caring Mrs. Black, even if it wasn't toward Sirius. Hope that wasn't too out of character for her. Glad you liked the conversation at the end, too, between the Blacks. If I recall, Rowlings compared Voldemort to Hilter (or maybe that was just an article about the stories), and I kind of kept that in mind while writing that side of things. Thanks again for the awesome review!


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer - Usual.

Chapter 43

"Mooooo-neeee. Moony! Come on. Time to wake up!" Sirius was bouncing on the edge of Remus' bed. Remus groaned, not ready to get up yet. "James. A little help here. I think lover-boy stayed up too late with my book."

The next thing Remus knew he was being sprinkled by water; at least, he hoped it was water. He opened his eyes and saw James, naked except for a towel, shaking his head like a dog, sprinkling Remus with water from the shower he'd just taken. He grunted and sat up. "All right. I'm up."

Sirius and James both smiled. James got dressed and didn't bother brushing his hair, which stuck up oddly on the best of days and had become truly unruly of late. It seemed the ladies loved the windswept look and James had gotten into the habit of running his fingers through his hair to rumple it up if it got too flat, making his fingers the only combing his hair ever received. The other Marauders snickered at his vanity, but didn't say anything.

Once the four boys were finished getting ready, they headed down to breakfast. Sirius had just finished filling his plate with food when he felt someone come up behind him. A slender arm reached around his chest and gave a slight squeeze. At the same time, the top of his head was kissed and he heard Gillette say "good morning." He smiled up at her and watched as she continued walking to sit with Lily and their usual group of friends.

Peter asked, with a confused look on his face, "So… are you guys dating or what?"

"Dunno." Sirius broke his gaze from her and looked back at the guys. "We'll see, I guess."

"Don't you feel the need to… clarify?" Peter continued.

"Not particularly."

James shook his head at his friend's casual view about dating.

"Well… Does that mean you are free to see other people?"

"Peter. We went on one date. To Hogsmeade. Neither of us exchanged vows or anything."

Peter still looked confused. He looked to Remus for help, but Remus was staring off somewhere behind him. When Peter turned around, he saw Aden, and figured that's who Remus was looking at. He didn't get it. He'd want some sort of security, some agreement that his girlfriend wouldn't be seeing anyone else.

Just then the owls flew in, delivering the mail. Remus received _The Daily Prophet_, as usual, and a letter, which was not usual. The writing was in careful, practiced cursive. He opened it and read. He glanced up at Aden, who was watching him, and smiled.

When the other Marauders noticed his reaction to the letter, they insisted he tell them what she had written. It was a thank you note reiterating that she had had a wonderful time at Hogsmeade and would love to go again. She also reassured him that she would not pressure him and was glad to at least be able to call him friend. The rest was only for him.

Sirius had also received a letter. He read through it quickly, chuckling a couple times then put it away.

"Who's writing to you?" James inquired.

"Yo mama," was all Sirius said.

"Ha ha. Did Gillette write to you? I didn't know that was standard procedure after a date…" James frowned.

"No. It wasn't Gillette."

"So who was it?"

"Yeah. You've gotten letters before. Who are they from?" Peter chimed in.

Sirius smiled. "I told you. They're from your mum." He indicated James when he answered.

James stared at him, waiting for the punch line.

"Look," Sirius held out the letter. "Remember when Remus had us write to each other's parents? Well, you're mum wrote back. We've kind of kept in touch."

"Huh." James thought about this. It was a little weird, though it would explain why his mum had greeted Sirius more warmly than Remus and Peter. His mum always did have a soft spot for strays, and she knew of Sirius' family situation from what he had told her, and probably from Sirius. "What do you talk about?"

Sirius shrugged, "Grades, classes… I told her I was going to Hogsmeade with Gillette. You know…" Sirius cleared his throat and shifted in his chair, not making eye contact.

"Stuff you write home about," James finished.

Sirius looked up at him. "Yeah." Sirius wasn't really sure how it had happened. James' mum had written him back and one night, when he was having a hard time during first-year, he wrote back to her. Since then they'd been corresponding. He imagined this was the way mums and sons were supposed to act, not that he'd known from experience. He hadn't mentioned it to James because he didn't want James to feel like he was trying to intrude in his family.

James stared at Sirius for a moment, then broke out into a huge grin. "Excellent! Maybe mum will let me keep you," he joked. "I always wanted a brother." James said this without really considering that it might make Sirius uncomfortable, especially with his broken relationship with his own brother.

Sirius, fortunately, was not at all uncomfortable, but rather relieved that James didn't care and he grinned back. "Be careful what you wish for."

Remus smiled at the two "brothers," then looked back down at the paper; but Peter frowned. He was confident enough in his place in the group that he didn't fear being abandoned by them anymore. Besides, he knew so much about them and their plans that had he been ousted… Well, let's just repeat that he was pretty confident he would remain in the "in." It didn't keep him from feelings of envy, however. He would do anything to be James. And he knew that he was pathetic in his inability to hide that as well as he'd like. But as James and Sirius became better friends, he realized there was no way to change the fact that he would never be as close to James as Sirius was, or very possibly anyone. He just sometimes wished he and Remus would bond as well, but Remus always remained slightly guarded, at least to Peter and, in all honesty, Peter preferred it that way, what, with Remus' lycanthropy.

"Well that's not good," Remus muttered to himself, catching the attention of the others.

"What?" James asked, while Sirius leaned in to look at what Remus was reading. James watched Sirius' expression turn from curiosity to surprise to a frown. He repeated, "What?"

"Dementors," Remus said by way of explanation. "It seems a few of them have left their post at Azkaban and are feeding on the general populace. The Ministry is having a hard time tracking them, though."

James' eyes got wide. "First werewolves, now Dementors?... I think it's an understatement to say things aren't good."

"At least we can see them coming, unlike muggles," Sirius commented.

Peter shuddered, "Not that I ever want to see one coming." The others nodded agreement for once.

James sat back and scanned the Great Hall. It seemed whispering groups had broken out in several areas of the cafeteria. Apparently, Remus wasn't the only one who had seen the article. James watched for a few more minutes before whispering, "Guys, check it out." He nodded in the direction of the Slytherin table.

Narcissa, Avery, Snape, Rastaban, Regulus and a few other purebloods were among the few in the Great Hall nonplussed by the news. In fact, they seemed a little more superior then before. They obviously thought they were safe from what was going on outside the school, if not in some way in league with the Death Eaters.

"I think we need to remind them that they're no safer than the rest of us," James whispered.

"Us?" Peter pointed out. "You and Black are purebloods. You have nothing to worry about."

"Don't be an idiot," Sirius blurted out.

James held up his hand to stop Sirius from saying anything else. "I think what Sirius means is, we may not be in danger because of our families, but there's no way we'd leave you two alone. So if you're in danger, we'll be right there with you," James explained.

Peter nodded acceptance of this statement. "Us, then."

"So," Remus sighed, but then looked up at the others, mischief dancing in his eyes. "We're up to no good again."

Sirius clapped Remus on the back and laughed, the others joining in.

A week later, the Marauders were examining their handiwork in a classroom not far from the Entrance Hall.

"Perfect," Sirius said. James and Peter nodded enthusiastically.

"If we get caught," Remus reminded them for the hundredth time, "we are going to be in so much trouble."

"Relax. We won't get caught. Okay, James is going to lure Snivellus, Bulstrode and Avery. I've got Narcissa and Rastaban. Peter, you get what ever other Slytherins you can. Remus, you'll stay here to start the fun."

Everyone nodded.

James figured his task would be easy. All he had to do was find Snape and do something that looked suspicious; Avery and Bulstrode were never too far away. Snape would immediately follow him to investigate what he was up to.

Sirius knew that Rastaban had become Narcissa's unofficial bodyguard. Not only was she his new sister-in-law's younger sister, but it was a favor to Lucius Malfoy. Sirius found the two walking toward their common room. He cast a minor jinx in Narcissa's direction, not really intending to hit her, and then took off running. Naturally, the other two followed.

Peter found a group of younger Slytherins. All he had to do was pretend to be afraid of them, which wasn't a far stretch for him. Knowing of his association with the other Marauders, the Slytherins pursued him.

All three boys arrived at the classroom within seconds of each other. It was plenty of time for them to hide under James' invisibility cloak while still getting all three groups into the room. The Slytherins looked at each other and the classroom cautiously, knowing that it was not a good thing they had all been brought to the same place. Remus magically closed the door, locking them inside. Then, one-by-one, James put out all of the torches in the room. The shutters had already been closed, so the effect was to leave the room in total darkness. At the same time, Sirius cast a freezing charm, causing the room to get very cold. Peter levitated the skeleton they had nicced from the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom (they figured out how to get past Odium's security measures over a month ago). The skeleton had been painted black and a shabby black robe was draped over it. The movement of the skeleton made a rattling noise.

The Marauders had to hold in their laughter as they could hear panic swelling among the Slytherins. They started banging on the door to get out.

"Stand aside!" the unmistakable voice of Snivellus called out. He muttered a spell and the door to the classroom burst open letting in light. That was when Narcissa screamed, believing that they were in the presence of an actual Dementor. Her scream was the first of many and the Slytherins stampeded out of the classroom, down the corridor, into the Entrance Hall and out onto the grounds. It was currently free period for a majority of the students and, being spring, a good number were outside.

Unfortunately, in order to avoid being caught, the Marauders had to bolt out of the classroom. They took several secret passages to get to the Gryffindor common room without crossing any traffic or teachers that would already be searching for the culprits, thus keeping them from seeing the final effect their prank had on the most noble of the house of Slytherin.

The guys waited in the common room for the first of the students to arrive back with a report. They didn't have to wait long. The first group of students to arrive was chattering about the Slytherins in panic. The Slytherins' description of the Dementor caused more curiosity than fear, but a professor was quickly found to confirm that it was a hoax and the Dementor was nothing more than Odium's classroom skeleton. It became far funnier, then, though some of the younger Slytherins were in tears and it was rumored that, despite adamant protests to the contrary, Avery, who was not the most composed in the best of times, had wet himself.

Sirius and James (and, of course, Peter) found this particularly funny, but Remus frowned.

"Lighten up, Moony," Sirius chuckled.

More and more students returned to the common room before supper to drop off their belongings, and the trick on the Slytherins was the talk of the evening. Several students asked if the Marauders were involved, which they denied, usually with feigned innocence or winks from James and Sirius.

Lily and Gillette came into the common room. Lily saw James and made a beeline for him.

"I suppose you think that was funny."

James was slightly taken aback. Though Lily usually picked on him for their pranks, he had never seen her so angry. He smiled just the same, "Yes. Yes I do."

"Well it wasn't. You humiliated those poor kids." Lily was gesturing wildly in her anger. "A couple of them were first- and second- years. They were in tears. You should be ashamed of yourself!"

"Who said we had anything to do with it?" James asked, no longer smiling.

"Oh please." Lily rolled her eyes, "You just happened to not be outside today for the first time in two weeks? The teachers may not be able to pin this on you, but everyone knows it was you."

"Excellent," Sirius smiled.

"You, Black!" Lily turned to Sirius and pointed at him.

"Lily," Gillette said quietly.

But she continued full-steam, "Your own brother! How could you?"

Sirius cast a furious glance at Peter, knowing he was the only one who could have gotten Regulus involved. Peter sank into his chair as far as he could to retreat.

"You're… you're," Lily cast about for a sufficient adjective, "school-yard bullies!"

Three of the Marauders looked sufficiently guilty for Lily to stop her tirade. And Sirius was too angry to feel guilt at the moment. She glared at each of them one more time before turning and heading to her dorm room.

Gillette stood for a moment, uncertain about where to go. She saw the look Sirius had thrown at Peter and knew he had not intended for Regulus to be involved, not that it made what the guys did right. She decided to follow her friend upstairs, knowing that Lily would not be done venting her frustration yet. Sometimes Lily empathized a little to well with others.

After a few minutes, Remus broke the silence, "That's not what was supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to go that far. We…" Remus stopped and leaned in closer to the others. "We could have caused a real panic."

"But we didn't," Sirius said flatly.

"We were supposed to scare them. Not humiliate them," Remus protested.

"They could do with a good dose of humiliation," James defended. "They think they're better than everyone else."

"Not at all like…" Remus cut off what he was going to say.

"What were you going to say?" Sirius asked coolly.

"Nothing. Forget it. I just think we went too far this time."

Later that evening, Professor McGonagall came into the common room. "Prefects, gather all the students, please. I have an announcement." She waited until all of the students were settled. "As I'm sure all of you are aware, a rather… disturbing… prank was pulled today. We do not know who was behind it." At this statement, McGonagall stared pointedly at the four Marauders, communicating clearly that they knew, but couldn't prove who the culprits were. "I understand that, occasionally, pranks are pulled for fun. They are tolerated, as we do not run a military school, nor do we wish to. Instead, we believe our students can make responsible decisions on their own. However, I cannot stress enough how inappropriate tonight's display was. We live in increasingly dangerous times. Things that, at one time, might have been humorous, are now very serious. I strongly urge that better judgment be used in the future. Or perpetrators may find themselves expelled."

- - - - -

A/N - Thanks again to everyone. I'm really kind of surprised at the positive response I received with the last chapter, so thank you all. Thanks for the reviews. Thanks also to my beloved beta - J.A.Carlton - and editors - Mom and mei mei. Love ya.

Nonair - Thanks again for helping to keep me honest. I really had a hard time deciding how I wanted to handle Lily and James. I didn't want him pathetically fawning for 4 years, but I did want him to have a genuine interest. So thank you for thinking I'm handling that pretty well. Glad you liked Remus on his date, too. Thanks again.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer - Usual.

Chapter 44

Despite the negative reaction from the Professors and a few select kids, the prank actually went over rather well with the majority of the students. It was a tension breaker for the upcoming exams and the nervousness some students were experiencing about going home – away from the protection of the school. The Marauders hadn't been the only ones who had noticed the increase in Slytherin snobbishness and so others were glad to see them taken down a peg or two. It seemed that, to the general population, the Marauders could do no wrong.

Even Peter was getting some attention, much to his delight. He had been concerned, at first, that he and Sirius would not be able to work things out. There had been an unspoken rule that Regulus was off limits, unless it was otherwise unavoidable, and even then, the others tended to wait for Sirius to give the go-ahead. But, after a day of the silent treatment, Sirius seemed to forget his anger and things returned to normal. Better than normal, in Peter's case, as he was actually being acknowledged. And the year ended on a high note.

Remus had received permission from the Headmaster to stay at the school until the end of June, after that month's full moon. It was unusual for the school to allow students to stay, but the Headmaster had, for reasons not explained to the students, decided to allow any student who wanted to stay at school over the holiday the opportunity to do so.

On the day everyone was supposed to leave, Remus told the others he'd meet them in the Entrance Hall before they left, but he had somewhere to go first. He went to the corridor outside the Ravenclaw common room and waited for Aden to come out with her things. She saw him and smiled. Turning to her friends, she told them to go on without her, she'd meet them on the train. Her friends looked over at Remus and giggled before rushing off to leave the two alone.

"Hi," Remus said shyly.

"Hi," Aden responded, grinning. They stood in silence for a moment before Aden said, "Walk me to the station?"

"Yeah," Remus answered, glad to have something to do. He had a lot of things he wanted to say – had planned on saying – but suddenly found himself unable to say. The two had continued corresponding by owl, which the Marauders often teased him about, and they talked more in class, but things really hadn't progressed further than that. "It's been pointed out to me that I'm really not a very good model of a Gryffindor."

"What?" Aden asked in genuine surprise.

"I mean… I… I really like you, but…" Staring at the floor while they walked, Remus blushed madly, and couldn't finish what he was saying.

"But… you're… afraid?"

Remus nodded.

"Me too," Aden said simply and grinned.

Remus looked up at her.

"I've never had… a boyfriend. And you made me ask you to Hogsmeade," she teased. "But some things – some people – are worth the risk."

Remus nodded. He reached out and slipped his hand in hers, then stopped walking. She stopped too, and turned to face him. "Will you… Would you… Would you like to be my girlfriend?" The smile on Aden's face filled Remus with happiness he had rarely let himself feel.

"Yes! Absolutely!" Aden threw her arms around Remus' neck and gave him a hug.

He pulled back just enough to be able to look at her face, then he bent forward and kissed her. It wasn't long; it wasn't passionate or deep. Rather, it was innocent and sweet, and the start of something new… for both of them.

They broke apart and he walked her the rest of the way to the station, hand in hand.

"Huh," Sirius grinned as he came off the last stair leading down into the Entrance Hall. "I think we've been forgotten about."

James and Peter both looked in the direction Sirius was looking and saw Remus and Aden walk out the front doors.

"Good for him," James said, genuinely glad for his friend.

They walked to the station, making sure to keep far enough away from Remus so as not to intrude. They watched as the two of them said good-bye and kiss each other on the cheek.

Remus turned around to see his three friends staring at him in amusement. He blushed again and grinned as the others joined him.

"So, is it official now?" James asked.

"Yup." Remus couldn't help but smile.

"Excellent!" Sirius said enthusiastically.

"If you're so excited, why don't you make things official with Gillette?" Remus asked.

"Nah. Wouldn't work. We're both free spirits." Sirius was very comfortable with his relationship with Gillette. They were far from ordinary in what they had. To a total stranger, it would have been hard to tell if they were really close brother and sister or a couple. While Sirius had not gone on a date with anyone else, Gillette had been asked to go to the next Hogsmeade visit by a fourth-year Hufflepuff and she went. Sirius hadn't been upset. It really hadn't bothered him at all. They had never committed to anything, so he figured she was free to see who she wanted. Yet, several times a week, they could be found sitting on the couch chatting, his arm around her, or her head resting on him. Some called them flirtatious; some called them worse. But neither seemed to care. They were both rather amused, in fact, by people's reactions – especially Lily's and sometimes they'd get extra flirtations just to watch Lily roll her eyes and walk off muttering.

Remus just shook his head. He would never understand that relationship. He suspected that, on some level, Sirius was just as afraid of commitment as he was; he just dealt with it differently.

The guys said their good-byes and Remus watched the train leave.

Once the train arrived at the London station, it was easy to find their parents. The Potters and John and Mrs. Pettigrew were standing together, waiting for their sons. James was amused to see that the Beynons and Evanses were waiting with them.

James greeted his parents while Peter greeted his. The Pettigrews and John, dismissed themselves; Mrs. Pettigrew saying they had an appointment in town and had to leave right away. Peter waved to his friends.

"Hello, mum," Sirius said, with a wink at James. He walked up and gave Mrs. Potter a hug. She beamed back at Sirius and kissed the top of his head.

"Yeah. Mum," James said in a falsely angry voice. "You didn't tell me you were planning on adopting another son. You could have at least given me a little brother… One shorter than me, anyway."

Mrs. Potter laughed, "Sorry son. One cannot always help how these things turn out."

"I think I'm missing something important," Mr. Potter said with a suspicious look at his wife, causing Mrs. Potter, James and Sirius to all start laughing, much to the confusion of the Evanses and Beynons.

"Ah, here they come," Mrs. Evans said when she spotted Lily and Gillette walking toward them.

Petunia broke away from her parents and rushed to her sister. There was a short, girly huddle with hopping and squeeing, before the three girls, grinning and giggling, joined the others.

"Sirius!"

Sirius' eyes were drawn to the source of the noise. Mrs. Black and Regulus were waiting for him. Mrs. Black looked angrier than usual, and did not even attempt to hide the look of disgust with which she graced the Evanses and Beynons.

"Arf," Sirius said quietly, frowning back at his family. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and watched in surprise as Gillette actually approached his mother.

Mrs. Black always made it a point to stand at least 30 feet from the group with which her son felt the need to publicly humiliate the family. To her horror, one of the muggleborns was walking her way.

Gillette smiled kindly, though with a hint of mischief in her eyes, as she approached Mrs. Black. To her amusement, Mrs. Black literally took a few steps back at her approach. Gillette stretched out her hand in greeting, not really expecting a return greeting. "Mrs. Black. My name is Gillette. I just wanted to meet the woman responsible for raising such a wonderful young man as Sirius."

Mrs. Black's eyes squinted as she turned her deadly gaze to her son. He was not looking at her, however, but at the impudent muggleborn standing before her.

Gillette lowered her hand and continued to smile. "Thank you for doing such a wonderful job. I hope you have a lovely holiday." She walked away, leaving a gaping Regulus and glaring Mrs. Black behind her. She saw the look of surprise on Sirius' face and hoped he wouldn't be upset by what she did, but she couldn't stand the pompous woman and it irritated her to no-end how Mrs. Black treated her son.

"Gillette!" Sirius said, still looking stunned. But his face broke out into a very pleased smile. He stepped forward as Gillette returned to the group and got down on his knee. "Will you marry me?" he said playfully, causing Gillette to break down into giggles. He stood back up. "Bloody brilliant. I love you." He stepped forward and picked her up in a huge hug, spinning her before putting her down. "I don't know if I'll live through the summer, but that was worth it." Sirius was still laughing as he walked away. He waved back at James and jogged up to his family, feeling happier to see them than he could ever remember. He knew there'd be hell to pay, but he really didn't care.

"Oh dear," Mrs. Potter whispered and frowned. She was apparently the only one concerned about the exchange.

James was congratulating Gillette, whose parents really didn't know what was going on. Gillette assured them she'd explain later. She and Lily hugged good-bye and made plans to get together later.

The group dispersed, each family going to their own homes to start the summer holiday and catch up on each other's lives.

- - - - -

A/N - Well, I want to apologize for the short chapter. I thought about adding it to the next chapter, but this one actually makes a perfect break for this part of the story. That's right. That means the next time I post a chapter, it will be listed under The Way We Are: Part 3. Okey Dokey?

Thanks again for reading and reviewing and adding my story to alerts. I appreciate it. Y'all rock! Thanks also, of course, to my lovely editors and beta - Mom, mei mei, and J.A. Carlton.

Nonair - I agree that vanity seems to fit James. They all have their faults; it's good to be able to laugh at one of them.

It's funny how perspective changes things. The guys did have a purpose behind their prank, but other than that, I don't think they really thought about all the implications. That's part of growing up, though, and they have a ways to go.

Thanks for the complement about Snape. I could really hear the adult-Snape in my head when he calmly took over the situation, so I'm glad that came across. And yeah, he really was brave - a sign of things to come.

Thanks again.


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